A  REVIEW 


OF 


€\}t  Causes  aub  Conatquttws 


OF 


THE  MEXICAN  WAR, 


BY  WILLIAM  JAY. 


SECOND     EDITION. 


BOSTON: 

BENJAMIN  B.  MUSSEY  <fc  CO.; 

URIAH  HUNT  &  CO.,  PHILADELPHIA;   M.  W.  DODD, 

NEW  Y011K. 

1849. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1849, 

Br  BENJAMIN   B.  MUSSEV  &  CO., 
In  the  Clerk'a  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Massachusetts. 


INTRODUCTION, 


THE  writer  is  a  believer  in  the  Divine  authority  of  the 
Scriptures — he  acknowledges  no  standard  of  right  and 
wrong  but  the  Will  of  God,  and  denies  the  expediency 
of  any  act  which  is  forbidden  by  laws  dictated  by  Infi 
nite  Wisdom  and  Goodness.  This  avowal  will  prepare 
the  reader  to  find  in  the  following  pages  many  opinions 
not  having  the  stamp  of  public  approbation.  Patriot 
ism,  honor,  glory,  and  national  prosperity,  are  terms  to 
which  the  Christian  and  the  mere  politician  attach  dif 
ferent  ideas,  and  estimate  by  different  standards.  He 
who  admits  the  authority  of  the  Bible  will  not  readily 
acknowledge  that  whatever  is  "highly  esteemed  among 
men"  must  be  right,  nor  that  what  is  unpopular  is,  of 
course,  wrong. 

In  the  following  Review,  the  public  conduct  and 
opinions  of  public  men  are  freely  and  fearlessly  can 
vassed,  but  in  no  instance,  it  is  hoped  and  believed,  at 
the  expense  of  truth.  In  justice  to  the  writer,  the 
reader  is  earnestly  entreated  to  bear  in  mind  the  dis 
tinction  between  the  statement  of  a  fart,  and  the  ex- 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

pression  of  an  opinion.  Conscious  of  his  own  anxious 
and  often  laborious  efforts  to  secure  accuracy  of  detail, 
and  of  quotation,  the  author  flatters  himself  that  his 
facts  will  be  found  incontrovertible — for  his  opinions 
he  claims  no  infallibility,  and  anticipates  no  general 
assent. 

The  Review  has  far  loftier  objects  than  those  of  an 
historical  record.  It  aims  to  recommend  and  enforce 
the  duty  of  preserving  Peace,  by  exhibiting  the  wicked 
ness,  the  baseness,  and  the  calamitous  consequences  of 
a  victorious  War,  effecting  all  the  ends  for  which  it  was 
waged.  It  seeks  to  warn  the  country  against  that  ad 
miration  of  military  prowess,  which,  by  degrading  in  the 
public  estimation  the  virtues  which  conduce  to  the  hap 
piness  and  security  of  society,  and  by  fostering  the  arts 
and  passions  which  minister  to  human  destruction,  is 
corrupting  the  morals  and  jeoparding  the  liberties  of 
the  Republic.  It  strives  to  excite  the  abhorrence  of 
the  good  for  that  statesmanship  which  seeks  the  ag 
grandizement  of  the  country  in  defiance  of  the  laws  of 
God ;  while  by  presenting  a  true  portrait  of  the  patriot, 
it  would  fain  afford  some  aid  in  detecting  spurious  re 
semblances. 

Such  are  the  purposes  for  which  the  design  of  the 
Review  was  conceived  and  executed.  The  author  hopes 
for  a  hearing,  not  from  the  selfish  throng  ignobly  strug 
gling  in  the  political  arena  for  office,  and  power,  and 
money,. and  lavishly  squandering  in  the  strife  their  own 
truth  and  honor,  and  the  public  good ;  but  from  that 


INTRODUCTION.  5 

small,  yet  increasing  number,  who  are  inquiring  how  far 
their  relations  to  the  State  are  to  be  governed  by  the 
precepts  of  Christianity. 

,The  maxim  that  "all's  fair  in  politics,"  and  the  mon 
strous  frauds,  falsehoods,  and  forgeries,  attending  almost 
every  important  election,  illustrate  the  lamentable  fact, 
that  in  general  "  Religion  has  nothing  to  do  with  poli 
tics."  But  religious  people  in  vast  numbers  have  much 
to  do  with  politics,  and  too  often  seem  to  think  that  in 
their  character  of  office-holders,  or  office-seekers,  they 
have  received  a  dispensation  from  the  obligations  of  the 
Moral  Law.  Such  persons,  should  they  deign  to  read 
the  ensuing  pages,  may  possibly  be  reminded  with 
profit,  that  moral  responsibility  is  not  attached  solely 
to  such  of  our  actions  as  may  be  termed  private  and 
domestic,  but  that  "  God  will  bring  every  work  into 
judgment" — works  done  in  political  meetings,  at  elec 
tions,  and  even  on  the  floor  of  Congress :  and,  that  as 
there  is  an  express  prohibition  against  following  "  a  mul 
titude  to  do  evil,"  no  majority,  however  great,  can  be 
pleaded  in  justification  of  crime,  or  in  mitigation  of 
punishment. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAP.                                                                                                     PAGE 
I.  Early  efforts  to  wrest  Texas  from  Mexico,     .        .  9  '/ 
II.  Independence  of  Texas,       .         .         .        .  16  "'" 
,111.  Professions  of  the  Federal  Government  in  refer 
ence  to  the  war  between  Mexico  and  Texas,          .  19 
-r  IV.  Efforts  of  the  Administration  to  excite  war  with 

Mexico,        .        .        .        .  '      .        .        .        .31 

*V.  Claims  on  Mexico,  and  war  recommended,         .  36 

VI.  Acknowledgment  of  the  Independence  of  Texas,     .  63  l 

VII.  New  claims  made  against  Mexico,       ...  68 

VIII.  Treaty  of  annexation  proposed  and  rejected,          .  64—. 

IX.  Treaty  of  arbitration — action  of  the  slaveholders,  66^- 

X.  Results  of  the  treaty  of  arbitration,  ...  69    - 

XI.  New  treaties  with  Mexico  about  claims,          .         .  74 
XII.  Seizure  and  surrender  of  Monterey  in  California, 

by  Commodore  Jones, 79 

XIII.  Negotiation  and  rejection  of  the  Tyler  treaty  of 

annexation, 87 

4   XIV.  More  attempts  to  irritate  Mexico,      ...  96 

XV.  Election  of  Mr.  Polk, 99 

XVI.  Annexation  by  joint  resolution,          .         .         .  101 

XVII.  Annexation  of  California  determined  on,        .        .  107 

XVIII.  Slidell's  mission  to  Mexico,         ....  Ill 

XIX.  Western  boundary  of  Texas, 121  - 

XX.  Commencement  of  war  against  Mexico,       .         .  130 

XXI.  Conquest  of  California, 144 

*   XXII.  Declaration  of  war  against  Mexico,  .         .        .  168 

XXIII.  The  war  prosecuted  for  conquest,           .        .        .  173 

XXIV.  Extent  of  territory  required  from  Mexico,        .  178 


8  CONTESTS. 

CHAP.  PAGE 
XXV.  Motive   for    acquiring    territory — the    Wilmot 

Proviso, 181 

XXVI.  Unworthy  expedients  for  facilitating  conquest,  196 

XXVII.  Conduct  of  American  officers  in  Mexico,        .  201 

XXVIII.  American  army  in  Mexico,         ....  213 

-  XXIX.  Sufferings  inflicted  on  Mexico  by  the  war,     .  *223 

XXX.  Cost  of  the  war  to  the  United  States,         .        .     240 

•  XXXI.  Political  evils  of  the  war,       ....          245 
.  XXXII.  Moral  evils  of  the  war,  .        .        .         .256 

XXXIII.  Acquisition  of  territory,         ....         267 

XXXIV.  Glory, 272 

XXXV.  Patriotism, 278 

XXXVI.  John  Quincy  Adams, 290 

XXXVII.  War,  and  the  means  of  prevention,        .        .         821 


REVIEW  OF  THE  MEXICAN   WAR. 


CHAPTER  I. 

EARLY    EFFORTS    TO    WREST    TEXAS    FROM    MEXICO. 

LOUISIANA  was  ceded,  by  France  to  Spain  in  I762^aiid 
restored  to  the  former  power  in  1800.  .Three  years  after, 
it  was  ceded  by  France  to  the^UnitecLS-tatas.  In  none 
of  these  cessions,  was  there  any  specification 


The  territory  was  a  vast  undefined  region  «ast  of  . 
the  Mississippi  ;  and  with  rare  exceptions,  untenanted  by 
civilized  inhabitants.__It^  of  course,  adjoined  the  Spanish 
dominions  in  Mexico,  but  the  separating  line  could  not 
easily  be  ascertained.  As  the  American  settlements^  in 
Louisiana  extended,  the  questioiTof  boundary  necessarily 
became_a  matter  of  discussion,  between  the  governments 
of  Spain  and  the  United  States.  This  qqiestion  was  finally- 
settled  in  1819,  by  a  treaty^with  Spain,  in  which  the  con 
tracting  powers  severally  ceded  to  each  other,  all  claims 
to  territory  beyond  their  respective  sides  of  a  defined 
line. 

In  1820,  the_State_  of  MissouriT  formed  out  of  the  Lou- 
isiana'  territorv^was^admi.ttpfl  into  the  Union  as..a_  slaye_ 
^tate.     To  facilitate  its  admission,  and  to  overcome  the 
formidable    opposition   of  the   Northern   States,  to   the 
incorporation  into  the  confederacy  of  another  slaveboTding^ 
Slati3,"the~slaveholders~proposed  and  effected  the  celebra- 


10  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

ted  Missouri  compromise,  a  law  declaring  that  in  future 
slavery  should  be  prohibited  north  of  36°  30"  north  lati- 
tude.  A  * 

V  A  pa     |/j><»JlA*M^ 

ItTwas  not  long  however,  before  it  was  discovered  that 
this  Missouri  compromise,  together  witn  the  southern 
VJoundary  of  the  United  States,  as  defined  in  the  Spanish 
treaty  of  ISlO/had  reduced  within  comparatively  narrpw 
limits,  thearea  from  which  slave  States  might  hereafter 
be  formed ;  with  the  exception  of  Florida,  the  territory 
south  of1  the  Missouri  comnromiseUine,  was  not  probably 

-t4_~4*A»    (Ll  fi^ 1 1p        *l 

sufficient  for  more  ttiariTwo  States*. 

The  State  of  Louisiana  was  separated  from  the  Spanish 
province'of  Texas,  by  tne  Sabine  river,  and  the  soil,  cli 
mate,  and  position  of  that  province,  rendered  it  a  desira- 
ble  acquisition  to  the  slaveholding  interest.  Various 
expedients  were  from  time  to  time  devised,  to  obtain  pos 
session  of  this  coveted  territory — forcible  seizure — colo 
nization — purchase — independence,  and  annexation.  The 
first  was  attempted  soon  after  the  Spanish  treaty,  had 
extinguished  all  claims  of  the  United  States  to  Texas,  as 
inc luded  within  the  territory  of  Louisiana? 

Aman Mined  Jam^rTTong,  with^at»jibout  seventy- five 
lawless  adventurers,  left  Natchez  on.  tlie  17th  June,  1819, 
and  proceeded  to  Nacogdoches,  about  forty  miles  within 
the  limits  of  Texas.  On  the  23d  of  the  same  month,  he 
there  issued  a  proclamation  whfcir-may  be-yegarded  as  tne 
first  step  in  that  career  of  fraud,  falsehood,  and  violence, 
which  ultimately  led  to  the  annexation  of  Texas,  and  the 
war  against  Mexico.  In  this  document,  which  was  pro 
bably  prepared  in  the  State  of  Mississippi,  Long,  styling 
himself  President  of  the  Supreme  Council  of  Texas, 
dectar^a^Tn^ttlie^  citizens  of  Texas,  have  long  indulged 
thejior^  that  in  the  adJustm^nT^T^e^tioung'anes  of  the 
Spanish  pogsejssiogs^i^^  of 


REVIEW    OP    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  11 

the  United  States,  they  should  be  included  within  the_ 
limits  of  the  latter/'  As  this  hope  had  been  dissipated 
by  the  recent  treaty,  the  proclamation  proceeds  to 
announce  the  independence  of  the  REPUBLIC  OF  TEXAS. 
This  paper,  was  of  course,  intended  as  an  invitation  to 
American  citizens  to  repair  to  Long's  standard,  and  parti 
cipate  with  him  in  the  intended  plunder;  and  it  was 
consequently  published  in  the  Louisiana  Herald,  printed 
in  New  Orleans,  %  ^o  T_r 

In  a  little  while,  the  whole  party  were  dispersed,  some 
being  killed,  and  the  others  taken  prisoners  by  the 
Spaniards.* 

The  plan  of  colonization  was  next  adopted.  Moses 
Austin  of  Missouri,  in  1821,  obtained  leave  from  the 
Spanish  authorities,  to  introduce  three  hundred  families 
into  Texas,  on  certain  conditions.  The  permission  was 
granted,  as  is  said,  on  the  representation  of  Austin,  that 
Catholics  were  oppressed  in  the  United  States,  and  it  was 
agreed  that  all  the  settlers  to  be  introduced  by  him, 
should  be  of  the  oppressed  religion.  Austin  dying,  the 
grant  was  in  1823,  renewed  to  his  son,  who  commenced  a 
colony  on  the  Brazos,  with  emigrants  from  Tennessee, 
Mississippi,  and  Louisiana.  By  the  renewed  grant,  the 
settlers,  it  is  asserted,  were  to  be  exclusively  Catholics ; 
but  whatever  was  their  creed  i-n  other  respects,  they  were  ^ 
believers  in  the  right  of  man  to  hold  property  in  man, 
and  accordingly  carried  their  slaves  with  them. 

In  1826,  a  body  of  emigrants  from  the  United  States,     v" 
settled  about  Nacogdoches,  again  raised  the  standard  of 
insurrection  under  a  man  of  the  name  of  Edwards,  and 
published   a   declaration   of  independence.     They  were, 
however,  soon  crushed  by  the  Mexican  forces. 

At  the  date  of  the  boundary  treaty,  Mexico  was  a 
*  Speech  of  Mr.  Severance  in  H.  of  R.,  Feb.  4,  1847. 


12  lli;VIK\V    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

slaveholding  country,  and  its  near  propinquity  to  our  own 
settlements,  was  on  that  account  viewed  with  less  jealousy 
by  southern  statesmen. 

The  planters,  as  we  have  seen,  might  cross  the  line 
with  their  slaves,  and  pursue  the  cultivation  of  sugar  and 
cotton  ;  nor  was  any  difficulty  apprehended  with  regard 
to  the  recovery  of  fugitives  slaves  frorn'the  States. 

These  border  relations  were,  however,  changed  by  a 
of  the_Mexican  Congress  of  13th  July, 


prohibiting  the  intrgduction  ofLslaxfis  from_foreigTi^  coun-_ 
jries.     The  Mexican  Constitution,  adopted  the  same  year, 

flpf^r^rl^thRf.  jo  pp.r^nn  Ahpiilrf  hp,rP^fter_ll^J.^.?l  Ji  slave  J 

thus    providing   for    the  gradual    but   total  abolition    of 
slavery  throughout  the  Republic.^ 

The  United  ^Provinces  of  Coahuila  and  Texas,  formed 
one  State,  and  its  Constitution  adopted  in  1827,  contained 
an_article^  g[yjnj£  _^®e^Pni  to  _  §ILjYll?_.s^lou^  be  hereafter 
born,  and  prohibiting  the  introduction,  of  slaves.,  ____  The 
work  of  emancipation  was  completed  by  a  decree  of  the 
Mexican  Congress  of  loth  September-,"!  829,  manumitting^ 
ever  slave  in  Mexico. 


These  successive_measur£a-  not  only  fm^m-ted 
of  thecoTonisJg^a^n^j^iscQuraged.fnrlliftr  ftmigrntmn  from 
th  enslave  States,  but  grcatly_  irritated  and  alarmed  tko. 
I  wliole  slavcholdjn^jnj£]^ab.  The  future  area  of  slavery 
had  been  greatly  contracted  by  the  boundary  treaty,  and 
the^MissouTT  "compromise  ;  and  now  that  "afea"\vas"to  be 
bounHecPon  the  soutirancT  jastTas2"well  as  on  the  north, 
by  an  unlimited  AREA  OF  FREEDOM.  Under  such  circum- 
stances^  "Afnencan  slavery  was  doomed.  The  influence 
of  the  free  JStates  \voidd  soon  predominate  in  the_general 
government,  and  the  ^rpwing  spirit  of  abolition  would  not 
oylixtendnto  thesouth  i  tself/but  r 


^ 
ways,  endanger  the  security  and    permanency  o£  slave 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  13 

property.  The  colonists  in  Texas,  were  at  present  too 
feeble  to  break  the  yoke  of  freedom  imposed  on  them  by 
the  Mexican  Government.  Against  that  Government,  the  ° 
United  Slates  had  no  pretext  for  war ;  and  the  treaty  at 
boundary  was  too  recent  and  too  explicit,  to  permit  any 
claim  being  made  to  the  territory  of  Texas^  But  one 
resource  was  lelt,  fJnd~that  was  purchase. 

The  government  as  early  as  the  15th  March,  1827, 
instructed  Mr.  Poinsett,  our  Minister  in  Mexico,  that  we 
wished  to  change  the  existing  boundary,  making  it  begin 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  del  Norte  (Rio  Grande),  thence 
up  the  river  to  the  Rio  Puereo,  and  then  with  the  last 
river  to  its  source  ;  thence  North  to  the  Arkansas,  and 
with  this  to  the  42°  North  Lat. ;  and  that  for  this  change 
of  boundary  we  would  give  one  million  of  dollars.  This 
modest  proposal  included  almost  the  whole  of  Texas  as 
at  present  claimed.  .. 

The  idea  of  purchase  now  took  strong  hold  of  the  south- 
ern  mind  ;  and  great  efforts  were  made  to  enlighten 'pul^ 
lie  opinion  on  the  importance  of  Texas,  anoT  the  necessity 
of  its  acquisition.  In  1829  a  series  of  newspaper  essays 
on  the  subject  appeared  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Benton,  a 
distinguished  Senator  from  Missouri.  Of  the  character 
of  these  essays  some  opinion  may  be  formed  from  the  fol 
lowing  notices  of  them  in  the  journals  of  the  day. 

The  ISdgefield  Carolinian,  speaking  of  Texas,  remarked, 
"  Some  imposing  Essays,  originally  published  in  the  St. 
Louis  Beacon,  with  the  signature  of  '  Americanus/  and 
attributed  to  Col.  Benton  of  the  Senate,  explaining  the 
circumstances  of  the  treaty  of  1819,  and  displaying  the 
advantages  of  the  retrocession,  have  operated  on  the  pub 
lic  mind  in  the  West  with  electrical  force  and  rapidity. 
The  writer  produces  strong  circumstantial  proof  that  the 
surrender  of  Texas  resulted  from  the  subserviency  of  orn 


14  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

negotiator  to  Spain  in  her  contest  with  Mexico,  together 
with  the  powerful  subsidiary  motive  of  hostility  to  the 
southern  and  western  sections  of  our  country.  Ameri- 
canus  exposes  the  evils  to  the  United  States  of  this  sur 
render  under  twelve  distinct  heads.  Two  of  them  of 
/particular  interest  to  this  section  of  the  country,  that  it 
I  brings  a  non-slaveholding  empire  in  juxfti- position  with  the 
^  slaveholding  South-west,  and  diminishes  the  outlet  for  the 
Indians  inhabiting  the  States  of  Georgia,  Alabama,  Mis 
sissippi,  and  Tennessee." 

A  Baltimore  paper,  speaking  of  the  essays  of  "  Ame- 
ricanus,"  says,  "  One  of  the  reasons  that  he  assigns  for 
the  purchase  of  Texas  is,  that  Jive  or  six  more  slaveholding 
States  may  thus  be  added  to  the  Union.  Indeed,  he 
goes  farther  than  this  in  one  of  his  calculations,  and  esti 
mates,  that  '  NINE  MORE  STATES  as  large  as  Kentucky,1 
may  be  formed  within  the  limits  of  that  province." 

A  Charleston  paper  treating  of  the  same  subject,  ob 
served,  "  It  is  not  imposssible  that  he  (President  Jack 
son)  is  now  examining  the  propriety  and  practicability  of 
a  retrocession  of  the  vast  territory  of  Texas  ;  an  enter- 
prize  which  could  not  fail  to  exercise  an  important  and 
favorable  influence  upon  the  future  destinies  of  the  South, 
by  increasing  the  votes  of  the  slaveholding  States  in  the 
United  States  Senate." 

Judge  Upsher,  of  Virginia,  afterwards  Secretary  of 
State  under  President  Tyler,  remarked,  the  same  year,  in 
the  Virginia  Convention,  "  If  Texas  should  be  obtained, 
which  he  strongly  desired,  it  would  raise  the  price  of 
slaves,  and  be  a  great  advantage  to  the  slaveholders  of 
that  State."  Mr.  Doddridge,  in  the  same  debate,  asserted, 
"The  acquisition  of  Texas  will  greatly  enhance,  the  value 
of  the  property  in  question."  Debates,  p.  89.  Mr. 
Gholston,  of  the  Virginia  Legislature  in  1832,  said,  "  He 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR,  15 

believed  the  acquisition  of  Texas  would  raise  the  price  of 
slaves  fifty  per  cent,  at  least."  Virginia  being  a  breeding 
State,  these  gentlemen  were  anxious  to  obtain  Texas  as  a 
new  and  extensive  market  for  their  staple  commodity. 
To  stimulate  the  action  of  the  Government,  rumors  were 
set  afloat  of  the  intentions  of  Great  Britain  to  possess  her 
self  of  Texas  ;  an  arntio.p, 


from  1829  to  the  day  of  annexation.  The  following  from 
the  New  Orleans  Creole,  of  1829,  is  a  specimen:  "A 
rumor  reached  us  by  the  last  packet  from  Mexico,  that  a 
company  of  British  merchants  had  offered  to  advance 
$5,000,000  to  the  Mexican  Government  on  the  condition 
that  the  Province  of  Texas  should  be  placed  under  the  pro' 
tection  of  Great  Britain." 

yrlpresident  JacksorT)entered  fully  into  the  views  of  the 
slaveholders,  and  on  the  25th  August,  1829,  Mr.  Pom- 
sett  was  instructed  to  offer  five  millions  for  Texas.  Al 
though  this  bid  so  greatly  exceeded  the  former,  it  was 
promptly  rejected.  /The  offer  was,  according  to  a  Mexi 
can  journal,  followed  by  another  :  "  When  he  (Poinsett) 
found  his  offer  objectionable,  he  further  insulted  the 
nation  by  proposing  a  loan  of  TEN  millions  (as  a  pawn 
broker  would)  upon  the  pawning  of  Texas  until  repaid, 
which  insidious  proposal  was  meant  to  fill  the  country  of 
Texas  with  Anglo-Americans  and  slaves,  and  to  hold  it 
after  in  any  event." 

/  The  failure  of  Mr.  Foinsett  to  obtain  from  Mexico  a 
stipulation  to  surrender  fugitive  'slaves,  gave  a  new  stimu 
lus  to  the  efforts  of  the  slaveholders  to  possess  themselves 
of  Texas  / 


16  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 


CHAPTER     II. 

INDEPENDENCE     OF    TEXAS- 

/  THE  insurrectionary  efforts  under  Long  and  Edwards 
having  failed,  the  Colony  under  Austin  having  yielded  as 
yet  no  aid  to  the  slaveholding  interest  in  the  United 
States,  all  hopes  of  acquiring  Texas  by  purchase  being 
now  abandoned,  and  no  pretext  for  war  with  Mexico  ex 
isting,  the  slaveholders,  as  a  last  resort,  determined  to 
effect  the  separation  of  the  Province  from  the  Mexican 
Republic^.asjjiecessary  preliminary  to  annexation^C om- 
ing  events  were  thus  shadowed  forth  in  an  article  pub 
lished  in  1830,  in  the  Arkansas  Gazette:  "  No  hopes 
need  be  entertained  of  our  acquiring  Texas  (by  purchase) 
until  some  party  more  friendly  to  the  United  States  than 
the  present,  shall  predominate  in  Mexico  ;  and  perhaps  not 
until  the  People  of  Texas  shall  throw  oft'  allegiance  to  that 
government,  which  they  will  no  doubt  do,  so  soon  as  they 
have  a  reasonable  pretext  for  doing  so.  At  present  they 
are  probably  subject  to  as  few  exactions  and  impositions 
as  any  people  under  the  sun.^^it  will  be  observed  that 
the  writer  takes  for  granted  that  we  shall  acquire  Texas, 
as  soon  as  the  American  settlers  shall  have  a  pretext  for 
revolting  from  Mexico/'  At  a  Congressional  election  held 
about  this  time  in  the  State  of  Mississippi,  the  following 
interrogatories  were  addressed  to  certain  of  the  candi 
dates — "Your  opinion  of  the  acquisition  of  Texas,  and 
how — whether  by  force  or  treaty  ;  and  whether  the  law*" 

*  Passed  by  Mexico  in  1830,  and  repealed  in  1833. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  17 

preventing  the  emigration  of  Americans  is  not  evidence  of 
apprehension  that  that  province  wishes  to  secede  from 
the  Mexican  Government,  and  whether,  if  requested,  we 
ought  to  give  the  seceders  military  assistance  ;  and  what 
would  be  the  effect  of  the  acquisition  of  Texas  upon  the 
pla n ting  in teres t?" 

jy/The  South,"  said  the  Mobile  Advertiser  at  this  time, 
"wish  to  have  Texas  admitted  into  the  Union  for  two 
reasons ;  first,  to  equalize  the  South  with  the  North ;  and 
secondly,  "a"s~a  convenient  and  safe  place  calculated  from 
its  peculiarly  good  soil  and  salubrious  climate,  for  a  slave 
population"  'j^Che  same  year,  Mr.  Samuel  Houston  of 
Tennessee,  disclosed  to  a  friend  (Robert  Mayo,  M.D.), 
who  communicated  the  intelligence  to  the  President,  that 
he  was  organizing  an  expedition  with  recruits  from  the 
United  States,  for  the  purpose  of  wresting  Texas  from 
Mexico ;  and  soon  after  it  was  announced  in  a  Louisiana 
paper,  that  Houston  had  gone  to  Texas,  the  editor  adding, 
"  we  may  expect  shortly  to  hear  of  his  raising  his  flag.^r 
f  One  mode  of  effecting  a  revolution  was  to  enlist  the  pe^ 
cuniary  interests  of  as  many  American  citizens  as  possible 
in  the  independence  of  Texas.  Vast  grants  of  land  had 
been  made  by  the  State  Legislature  to  a  few  individuals. 
These  grants  were  of  course  worthless  till  sold  out  in  par 
cels.  Many  of  the  patentees  resided  in  the  United  States, 
and  joint-stock  companies  were  formed  for  the  sale  of 
these  lands./  Three  of  the  most  notorious  of  these  com 
panies,  viz. :  "  The  Galveston  Bay  and  Texas  Company," 
"The  Arkansas  and  Texas  Company,"  and  "The  Rio 
Grande  Company,"  were  established  in  New  York./^Care 
was  taken  to  enlist  prominent  politicians  in  these  compa 
nies  ;  and  great  efforts  were  made  to  distribute  the  scrip, 
or  certificates  of  partial  purchases,  as  widely  as  possible. 
This  scrip  was  of  little  value  while  Texas  continued  under 


18  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

the  government  of  Mexico,  but  «-ca3£_.of  independence 
fojloo^ed — by  .annexation  ^might  prove  a  fortune  to^the 
holder.  In  this  manner,  ^"powerful  pecuniary  interest 

7  as  excited  in  the  free  StateiTin  behalf  of  Texas.*  f~ 
The  plans  of  the  conspirators  in  Texas  were  aided  in 
1832,  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  Mexican  troops,  in  conse 
quence  of  one  of  those  political  revolutions  with  which  the 
Republic  had  been  frequently  afflicted  since  its  independ 
ence.  In  this  state  of  things,  fresh  emigrants  found  no 
difficulty  in  entering  the  territory  with  their  slaves.  The 
colonists,  however,  experienced  an  obstacle  to  their  views 
in  their  union  with  Coahuila,  in  as  much  as  their  repre 
sentatives  were  in  a  minority  in  the  joint  Legislature. 
The  first  step,  therefore,  to  independence,  was  the  disso 
lution  of  the  connection  between  the  two  provinces.  For 
this  purpose,  the  colonists  in  1833  organized  themselves 
into  a  distinct  and  separate  ~State.  This  organization  was 
in  direct  and  palpable  violation  of  existing  laws.  The 
Mexican  Congress  refused  to  recognize  the  separate  State 
of  Texas.  A  small  body  of  troops  was  sent  into  the  in 
surgent  territority,  and  driven  out.  The  standard  of  re 
bellion  was  raised.  Texan  agents  traversed  the  United 
States,  addressing  public  meetings,  enlisting  troops,  and 
despatching  military  supplies  to  the  revolted  province. 
On  the  2d  March,  1836,  the  insurgents  issued  their  de 
claration  of  independence,!  and  fifteen  days  after  adopted 
a  Constitution  establishing  PERPETUAL  SLAVERY.  / 

*  After  the  Texan  revolution,  an  alderman  of  the  New  York 
Corporation  introduced  a  resolution,  overflowing  with  patriot 
ism,  and  calling  upon  Congress  to  acknowledge  the  independ 
ence  of  Texas.  The  surprise  occasioned  by  this  extraordinary 
attempt  in  a  civic  body  to  influence  the  foreign  relations  of  the 
national  government,  was  dissipated  by  the  discovery,  that  the 
mover  of  the  resolution  was  secretary  to  one  of  the  Texan  land 
companies 

f  Of  the  fifty-seven  signers  to  this  declaration,  fifty  were  emi 
grants  from  the  slave  Stales,  and  only  three  Mexicans  by  birth, 
and  these,  it  is  said,  largely  interested  in  Texan  land  specu 
lations. 


REVIEW    OF    THE   MEXICAN    WAR.  19 


CHAPTER   III. 

PROFESSIONS  AND  CONDUCT  OF  THE  FEDERAL  GOVERN 
MENT  IN  REFERENCE  TO  THE  WAR  BETWEEN  MEXICO 
AND  TEXAS. 

THE  Government  of  the  United  States  has  at  all  times 
been  liberal  in  its  professions  of  neutrality  in  regard  to 
belligerents,  and  has  on  various  occasions  endeavored  to 
prevent  its  citizens  from  engaging  in  hostilities  against 
friendly  powers.  In  1793,  President  Washington  issued 
his  proclamation  warning  American  citizens  against  "  com 
mitting,  aiding  or  abetting  hostilities  against  any  of  the 
Powers  at  war,"  and  threatening  with  prosecution  all 
who  should  "  violate  the  laws  of  nations,"  with  respect  to 
the  belligerents.  Washington's  subsequent  acts  abun 
dantly  evinced  the  sincerity  of  his  proclamation. 

In  1806,  President  Jefferson  issued  a  proclamation  de 
claring,  that  "  sundry  persons,  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  are  conspiring  and  confederating  together  to  be 
gin  and  set  on  foot  a  military  expedition  against  the  do 
minions  of  Spain ;  fitting  out  and  arming  vessels  in  the 
western  waters  of  the  United  States  ;  collecting  arms, 
military  stores  and  other  means  ;"  and  he  commands  all 
such  persons  to  cease  all  further  proceedings  as  they  will 
"  incur  prosecutions  with  all  the  rigor  of  the  law.'^/  He 
moreover  enjoined  it  upon  all  military  officers  of  the  army 
and  navy  of  the  United  States,  "  to  be  vigilant  in  bring 
ing  to  condign  punishment  persons  engaged  in  those  un 
lawful  enterprizes.V 


20  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

/  In  1815  a  similar  proclamation  was  issued  by  President 
Madison  against  persons  chiefly  in  Louisiana,  who  were 
preparing  to  invade  the  Spanish  provinces/ 

In  1838,  President  Yan  Buren  by  proclamation  inform 
ed  the  citizens  of  the  northern  frontier  who  were  aiding 
the  Canadian  rebels,  that,  by  compromitting  the  neu 
trality  of  the  Government,  they  would  render  themselves 
liable  to  arrest  and  punishment,  "  under  the  laws  of  the 
United  States,  which  will  be  rigidly  enforced." 

It  thus  appears  that  from  1793  to  1838,  our  Govern 
ment  had  acknowledged  the  duty,  and  professed  the  abi 
lity,  to  punish  its  citizens  for  violating  the  neutral  obliga- 
7ns  of  the  nation. 
In  1835  and  1836,  Texas  was  at  open  war  with  Mexico, 
part  of  the  time  as  an  insurgent  province,  and  part  of  the 
time  as  a  separate  Republic.  The  first  official  act  of  the 
government  manifesting  its  sympathy  for  the  insurgents, 
was  the  appointment  in  1835  of  four  consuls  to  reside 
among  them.  The  appointment  was  of  itselFmsulting  to 
the  Mexican  government,  and  was  undoubtedly  made  for 
the  purpose  of  stationing  in  Texas  confidential  agents  who 
might  facilitate  the  progress  of  revolt,  independence,  and 
annexation.^ 

The  embarrassment  and  perplexity  into  which  Mexico 
was  thrown  by  the  revolt  of  Texas,  and  the  aid  openly 
furnished  the  insurgents  from  the  United  States,  encour 
aged  the  Cabinet  at  Washington  once  more  to  press  their 
proposal  for  purchase,  and  Mr.  Butler,  the  minister  in 
Mexico,  was  instructed  (16th  August,  1835),  to  nego- 
ciate  for  a  cession  of  the  territory  bounded  by  the  Rio 
Grande  from  its  source  to  the  37th  degree  north  latitude, 
and  thence  to  the  Pacific  including  the  whole  of  Texas, 
Santa  Fe,  and  a  large  portion  of  California  I*/1 
*  Ex.  Doc,  1st  Sees.,  25th  Congress, 


REVIEW   OT    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  21 

It  may  readily  be  supposed  that  the  Federal  adminis 
tration  was  not  very  zealous  in  prohibiting  succor  to  the 
Texans,  who  were  laboring  to  secure  to  the  United  States 
a  very  large  portion  of  this  coveted  territory. 

On  the  29th  October,  1835,  the  Mexican  Minister  in 
formed  the -Secretary  of  State  that  no  less  than  twelve 
vessels  were  about  to  sail  from  New  York  and  New  Or 
leans  with  military  stores,  and  that  on  the  10th  of  the 
month  an  armed  schooner  had  sailed  from  New  Orleans 
for  Texas,  without  papers  from  the  Mexican  Consul,  and 
he  demanded  the  interposition  of  .the  Government  to  pre 
vent  such  breaches  of  neutrality.  In  consequence  of  this 
application,  the  Secretary  (Mr.  Forsyth)  addressed  a  cir 
cular  to  various  United  States'  Attorneys,  directing  them 
to  "  prosecute  all  violations  of  those  laws  of  the  United 
States  which  have  been  enacted  for  the  purpose  of  pre 
serving  peace  and  of  fulfilling  the  obligations  of  treaties 
with  foreign  nations."  The  cold  generality  of  this  cir 
cular  indicated  the  temper  and  wishes  of  its  author,  which 
were  no  doubt  perfectly  understood  by  the  prosecuting 
officers  to  whom  the  order  was  addressed.  Notwith 
standing  the  publicity  and  notoriety  of  the  "  violations," 
not  an  individual  was  ever  punished  for  participating  in 
them,  nor  was  an  officer  of  the  Government  ever  dismissed 
or  censured  for  treating  the  circular  as  a  mere  matter  of 
form.  A  few  months  after  the  date  of  the  circular,  Mr. 
N.  C.  Read,  United  States'  District  Attorney  in  Ohio, 
addressed  a  public  meeting  in  that  State,  called  in  aid  of 
the  Texans,  and  proposed  the  following  resolution,  which 
was  adopted  : — "  Resolved,  that  no  law,  human  or  divine, 
except  such  as  are  framed  by  tyrants,  and  for  their  bene 
fit,  forbids  our  assisting  the  Texans  ;  and  such  law,  if  any 
exists,  we  do  not  as  Americans  choose  to  obey."  At  the 
same  meeting,  a  Committee  was  openly  appointed  "  to 


22  REVIEW    Of1    TH£    MEXICAN    WAR. 

assist  Captain  Lawrence  in  raising  recruits  and  funds  for 
the  cause  of  Texas."  We  have  no  evidence  that  the  ex 
traordinary  conduct  of  the  Ohio  prosecuting  officer  im 
paired  the  confidence  the  Government  had  placed  in  him. 
Nevertheless,  Mr.  Forsyth  assured  the  Mexican  Minister 
that  "  all  measures  enjoined  and  warranted  by  law  have 
been  and  will  continue  to  be  taken  to  enforce  respect  by 
the  citizens  of  the  United  States  within  their  jurisdiction 
to  the  neutrality  of  this  Government." 

The  declaration  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  the  personal  friend 
of  General  Jackson,  and  his  successor  in  office,  h  a 
singular  commentary  on  this  official  and  solemn  pledge. 
"  Nothing  is  either  more  true  or  more  extensively  known, 
than  that  Texas  was  wrested  from  Mexico,  and  her  in 
dependence  established  through  the  instrumentality,  of 
^citizens  of  the  United  States."  * 

To  a  second  remonstrance  from  the  Mexican  Minister 
against  the  aid  so  openly  and  scandalously  afforded  by 
American  citizens  to  the  Texans,  Mr.  Forsyth  returned, 
29th  January,  1836,  the  following  most  extraordinary 
reply  :  "  No  sooner  was  it  apparent  that  the  dispute 
between  Texas  and  the  dominant  party  m  the  other  Mexi 
can  States  would  be  carried  to  extremities,  and  indications 
observed' of  a  design  in  some  of  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  to  take  a  part  in  the  struggle,  all  the  measures  in 
his  power  were  adopted  by  the  President  to  prevent  any 
interference  that  could  by  possibility  involve  the  United 
States  in  the  dispute,  or  give  just  occasion  for  suspicions 
of  an  unfriendly  design  on  the  part  of  the  Government  to 
intermeddle  in  the  domestic  quarrel  of  a  neighboring 
State." 

Six  days  before  these  solemn  and  official  assurances 
were  given,  a  course  of  measures  had  been  commenced 

*  Printed  Letter  to  Mr.  Hammet,  20th  April,  1844, 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  23 

by  the  President  which  exhibits  the  very  peculiar  view  he 
was  pleased  to  take  of  neutral  obligations. 
/On  the  23rd  January,  General  Gaines  was  directed  to  • 
take  a  position  near  the  western  frontier  of  the  State  of 
Louisiana,  to  prevent  the  contending  parties  from  enter 
ing  into  the  United  States'  territory  !  He  was  reminded 
that,  by  treaty  with  Mexico,  each  power  is  required  to 
prevent  by  force  "  all  hostilities  and  incursions  on  the 
part  of  Indian  nations  within  their  respective  boundaries." 
Supposing  this  order  to  have  been  given  in  good  faith,  its 
sole  object  could  have  been  to  protect  the  Texans  from 
assaults  by  American  Indians.  There  was  no  reason 
whatever  to  apprehend  that  the  Texans,  Americans  them 
selves,  and  daily  receiving  supplies  from  their  country 
men,  would  make  hostile  incursions  into  the  Ameiican 
territory.  The  Mexicans  had  neither  the  disposition  nor 
the  ability  to  invade  the  United  States.  There  was,  more 
over,  na  proof  that  the  American  Indians  intended  any 
aggressions  upon  the  Texans.  The  army  was  stationed 
on  the  frontier  of  Texas  for  objects  very  different  from 
those  which  were  avowed.  Commanded  by  a  General 
devoted  to  the  cause  of  annexation,  it  gave  countenance 
and  support  to  the  Texans  in  their  struggle  ;  and,  should 
more  efficient  aid  be  needed,  no  small  portion  of  its  men, 
arms,  and  ammunition,  would  readily  find  their  way  into 
the  Texan  camp.  It  is  to  be  observed,  moreover,  that 
Gaines  was  not  directed  to  prevent  American  citizens 
from  compromitting  the  neutrality  of  the  Government.. 
Kegiments  raised  in  the  Southern  States  might  freely  pass 
his  tent  on  their  way  to  wage  war  against  a  friendly 
power.  In  deference  to  our  treaty  stipulations,  Indians 
were  to  be  restrained  from  entering  Mexico  ;  but  foes  far 
more  dangerous  to  the  Mexicans  than  savages  were  to 
have  free  admittance.  General  Gaines  was  a  willing  in- 


24  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

strument ;  and,  in  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  the  orders 
sent  to  him,  showed  that  he  thoroughly  understood  the 
purposes  for  which  they  were  issued.  "  Should  I  (said 
he  in  his  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War  of  29th  March, 
1836,*)  find  any  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  Mexicans 
or  their  red  brethren  to  menace  our  frontier,  I  cannot  but 
deem  it  my  duty,  not  only  to  hold  the  troops  of  my  com 
mand  in  readiness  for  action,  in  defence  of  our  slender 
frontier,  but  to  anticipate  their  lawless  movements  by 
crossing  our  supposed  or  imaginary  national  boundary, 
and  meeting  the  savage  marauders  wherever  they  may  be 
found  in  their  approach  towards  our  frontier."  In  other 
words,  he  would  march  to  the  rescue  of  Texas,  should  the 
Mexican  forces  advance  into  the  revolted  province.  A 
few  days  after  the  date  of  this  letter,  the  General,  in  his 
hot  zeal,  made  a  requisition  on  the  Governors  of  Louis 
iana,  Mississippi,  Alabama,  and  Tennessee,  each  for  a 
battalion  of  volunteers  to  protect  the  frontiers  !  (The  Ge 
neral  and  the  Cabinet  acted  in  perfect  unison.  The  for 
mer  had  hinted  his  readiness  to  cross  the  imaginary 
boundary,  for  the  purpose  of  anticipating  the  approach  of 
the  Mexicans.  The  latter,  on  the  25th  April,  informed 
him.  there  was  reason  to  believe  the  Indians  would  be  in 
duced  to  join  the  Mexicans,  and  in  that  case,  should  the 
contending  parties  approach  the  frontier,  he  may  advance 
as  far  as  NACOGDOCHES.  On  the  4th  May,  he  is  informed 
"  that  the  Secretary  of  War  had  written  to  the  Governors 
of  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  and  Ala 
bama,  requiring  them  to  furnish  him  with  such  militia 
force  as  he  may  require  to  protect  the  Western  frontier  of 
the  United  States  from  hostile  incursions."  The  General 
had,  on  his  own  responsibility,  called  fur  four  battalions 
from  four  States.  The  President,  still  more  provident, 
*  Ex.  Doc.,  1st  Scss.  24th  Cons.  Vol.  G. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 


25 


gives  him  power  to  call  for  an  unlimited  number  of  Militia 
from  no  less  than  Jive  States.  And  why  were  these  vast 
powers  confided  toKraines  ? — and  what  and  where  was 
the  enemy  against  whom  this  unnumbered  Militia  was  to 
be  poured  forth  by  all  these  States  ?  Not  an  Indian,  not 
a  Texan,  not  a  Mexican,  had  invaded  our  territory.  The 
country  was  at  peace  ;  nor  were  there  even  rumors  of  ap 
proaching  war.  To  understand  the  management  of  Gaines 
and  his  employers,  it  must  be  recollected  that  adventurers 
were  now  flocking  to  Texas,  and  that  Texan  agents  were 
organizing  in  the  Southern  States  military  expeditions  to 
rescue  the  province  from  the  dominion  of  Mexico.  If  A  let 
ter  from  one  of  these  men,  Felix  Houston,  dated  i>  atchez, 
Mississippi,  4th  March,  1836,  and  published  in  the  jour 
nals  of  the  day,  will  suffice  to  show  the  character  of  these 
expeditions.  "  I  contemplate  starting  for  Texas  about  1st 
May  next,  and  expect  to  take  with  me  about  five  hundred 
emigrants.  I  am  making  preparations  for  arms,  ammuni 
tion,  uniforms,  &c.,  &c.,  at  an  expense  of  $40,000.  I  shall 
have  a  rendezvous,  and  begin  to  send  on  supplies  by  the 
1st  May."^  Of  course,  such  expeditions  were  a  drain 
upon  the  pockets  of  slaveholders,  as  well  as  upon  the 
treasury  of  Texas./  The  device  of  the  Cabinet,  in  per 
mitting  General  Gaines  to  collect  volunteers  on  the  fron 
tier  of  Texas,  from  no  less  than  five  States,  at  the  public 
expense,  obviated  the  only  serious  difficulty  experienced  in 
raising  within  the  United  States  a  military  force  for  wrest 
ing  Texas  from  Mexico.  Recruits  for  Texas  might  now, 
under  the  requisitions  of  the  President,  and  the  plenipo- 
teTTtlaTy^iscretion  of  the  General,  be  equippe 
portedjfrom  tEe""nfligh  boring  istates  to  Nacogdoches,  in 
TexasTat  the  cost  of  the  United  States.  When  once  in 
Texas,  they  might  fight  the  Mexicans  if  they  pleased, 
they  were  sent  there  to  "protect  the  frontier ;"  and,  i 


26  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR, 

sending  them  for  such  a  purpose,  the  President  of  course 
violated  none  of  the  obligations  of  neutrality,  and  afforded 
the  Mexicans  no  eause  for  complaint !  General  Gaines 
had  been  authorized  to  advance  as  far  as  Kacogdoches ; 
but  circumstancesmight  occur  to  render  it  expedient  for 
him  to  ^esimmrmer,  and  the  administration  boldly  re 
served  to  themselves  the  privilege  of  sending  him  and  his 
army  wherever  they  pleased.  The  Mexican  Ministerlvery 
naturally  remonstrated  against  the  invasion  of  Mexican 
territory  by  the  American  army/  Mr.  Forsyth  very  coolly 
replied  (May  10th),  "  that  to  protect  Mexico  from  Ame 
rican  Indians,  and  to  protect  our  frontiers  from  Mexican 
Indians,  our  troops  might,  if  necessary,  be  sent  into  the 
heart  of  Mexico" 

It  would -seem  that  neither  General  McComb,  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief  of  the  army,  nor  the  Governor  of  Louis 
iana,  had  been  admitted  into  the  secrets  of  the  Cabinet, 
On  the  26th  of  April,  the  former  addressed  a  letter  to 
the  Secretary  of  War,  from  New  Orleans,  informing  him 
that  the  Governor  insists  that  it  is  unnecessary  j^J,o  send 
to  the  frontiers  of  the  State  any  troops,  as  the  country 
was  not  invaded,  nor  likely  in  his  opinion  to  be  invaded  ; 
and  further,  he  was  impressed  with  the  belief,  that  it  was 
a  scheme  of  those  interested  in  the  Texan  speculations, 
who  had  been  instrumental  in  making  General  Gaines 
believe  that  the  Mexican  authorities  were  tampering  with 
the  Indians  within  our  boundaries ;  and  at  the  same  time 
exciting,  by  false  representations  here,  the  sympathies  of 
the  people  in  favor  of  the  Texans,  with  a  view  of  inducing 
the  authorities  of  the  United  States  to  lend  their  aid  in 
raising  in  this  city  a  force  composed  of  interested  persons, 
who  should  move  to  the  Texan  frontier  under  the  call  of 
General  Gaines,  and  afterwards,  under  false  rjretensions, 
actually  march  into  Texas,  and  take  part  in  the  war  now 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  27 

waging  betiveen  the  Texans  and  the  Government  of  Mexico  ; 
and  all  this  at  the  expense  of  the  United  States,  and  con 
sequently  with  the  implied  sanction  of  the  Government.'" 

This  letter  affords  an  amusing  instance  of  the  simplicity 
of  the  commanding  General,  who  supposed  he  Avas  giving 
information  to  the  Government  when  detailing  the  natu 
ral  and  intended  consequences  of  its  own  measures.  The 
General  did  not  know  what  is  proved  by  official  docu 
ments,  that  the  device  of  placing  an  army  on  the  frontiers 
of  Texas  originated  with  the  Cabinet,  and  not  with  Gaines. 
^The  troops,  in  obedience  to  orders  from  Washington, 
marched  into  Texas,  and  took  a  position  at  Nacogdoches. 
Immediately,  Houston,  the  Texan  President,  issued  his 
proclamation,  pretending  that  the  Indians  were  about  to 
attack  Nacogdoches,  and  calling  on  the  militia  "  to  sus 
tain  the  United  States  troops  at  this  place,"  and  to  report 
themselves  to  the  United  States  Commander.  The  object 
of  the  proclamation  was  two-fold,  first,  to  impress  both 
Texans  and  Mexicans  with  the  military  aid  to  be  granted 
the  former  by  the  United  States, — and  secondly,  to  array, 
as  soon  as  possible,  the  Texan  militia,  under  the  Ameri 
can  General./' 

An  American  officer  at  Nacogdoches,  indignant  at  the 
perfidious  conduct  of  the  Government,  thus  gave  vent  to 
his  indignation  in  a  letter  published  at  the  time  in  the 
Army  and  Navy  Chronicle.  Speaking  of  the  object  of 
taking  their  present  position,  lie  remarked,  "  It  is  to  cre 
ate  the  impression  in  Texas  and  Mexico,  that  the  Govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  takes  a  part  in  the  controversy. 
It  is  in  fact  lending  to  the  cause  of  Texas  all  the  aid  which 
it  can  derive  from  the  countenance  and  apparent  support 
of  the  United  States,  besides  placing  our  troops  in  a  situ 
ation  to  take  an  active  part  in  aid  of  the  Texans,  in  case  a 
reverse  of  their  affairs  should  render  aid  necessary." 


23  REVIEW    OF    THE   MEXICAN    WAR, 

One  of  the  practical  results  of  sending  troops  into 
Texas  is  given  in  the  following  extract  from  the  Pensacola 
Gazette : — "  About  the  middle  of  last  month,  General 
Gaines  sent  an  officer  of  the  United  States  army  into 
Texas,  to  reclaim  some  deserters.  He  found  them  already 
enlisted  in  the  Texan  service,  to  the  number  of  TWO  HUN 
DRED.  They  still  wore  the  uniform  of  our  army,  but  re 
fused,  of  course,  to  return.  This  is  a  new  view  of  our 
Texan  relations." 

When  our  troops  were  no  longer  needed  in  Texas,  they 
were  withdrawn,  and  sent  to  fight  the  Seminoles  in  Flo 
rida.  General  Gaines  now  issued  a  proclamation,  offering 
a  fall  pardon  to  those  who  had  "  absented  themselves 
from  their  regiments,"  provided  they  returned  by  a  cer 
tain  day.  As  these  absentees,  commonly  called  deserters, 
had  been  serving  the  cause  of  slavery  in  Texas,  the  mercy 
of  the  General  was  cordially  extended  to  them. 

When  the  Government  thus  evinced  its  sympathy  for 
Texas,  and  sent  its  army  among  the  insurgents  to  counte 
nance,  and,  if  necessary,  protect  them,  it  could  not  be 
expected  that  the  partisans  of  Texas  in  the  United  States, 
would  be  very  regardful  of  the  laws  of  neutrality.  A  few 
extracts  from  the  journals  of  that  day  will  show  the  pub 
licity  with  which  the  people  of  the  United  States  made 
war  upon  a  friendly  power  : — 

"  WHO  WILL  GO  TO  TEXAS  ?  Major  J.  W.  Harvey  of 
Lincolnton,  has  been  authorized  by  me,  with  the  consent 
of  Major- General  Hunt,  an  agent  in  the  western  counties 
of  North  Carolina,  to  receive  and  enrol  volunteer  emi 
grants  to  Texas,  and  will  conduct  such  as  may  wish  to 
emigrate  to  that  Republic,  about  the  1st  October  next,  at 
the  expense  of  the  Republic  of  Texas. 

"  J.  P.  HENDERSON, 
"  Brig.- Gen.  of  the  Texan  Army." 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  29 

"  THREE  HUNDRED  MEN  FOR  TEXAS.  General  Dunlap 
of  Tennessee  is  about  to  proceed  to  Texas  with  the  above 
number  of  men.  Ecery  man  is  completely  armed,  the 
corps  having  been  originally  raised  for  the  Florida 
War." 

"This  morning  more  than  200  men,  commanded  by 
Colonel  Wilson,  and  on  their  way  to  Texas,  passed  this 
place  in  the  Tuskina,  with  drums  beating  and  fifes  play 
ing.  They  will  be  followed  by  300  men  more,  all  from 
old  Kentucky." 

In  vain  did  the  Mexican  Minister,  from  time  to  time,  i 
call  the  attention  of  the  Government  to  these  violations  of  ^ 
neutrality.  Notwithstanding  the  solemn  and  repeated 
assurances  given  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  not  a  serious 
effort  was  made  to  arrest  the  tide  of  war  which  was  roll 
ing  from  the  United  States  upon  the  Mexican  territory. 
No  proclamation  was  issued,  warning  our  citizens  of  their 
duties  and  responsibilities  ;  no  instructions  were  given,  as 
in  former  instances,  to  military  officers,  to  arrest  the  vio 
lators  of  our  neutrality.  Jefferson  had  succeeded  in 
bringing  a  man,  lately  one  of  the  highest  functionaries  in 
the  country,  to  trial,  for  secretly  planning  an  invasion  of 
the  Spanish  dominions.  Jackson,  one  of  the  most  ener 
getic  Presidents  that  ever  occupied  the  executive  chair, 
never  enforced  the  penalties  of  the  law  on  one  individual 
of  the  many  thousands  who  openly  perpetrated  the  crime 
which  Burr  had  only  designed. 

When  commanding  in  the  southern  department,  General 
Jackson  thought  proper  to  put  to  death  two  foreigners, 
named  Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister,  accused  of  aiding  the 
Indians  in  their  hostilities,  and  thus  expressed  himself  in 
his  order  for  their  execution  : — "  It  is  an  established  prin 
ciple  of  the  law  of  nations,  that  any  individual,  of  any 
nation,  making  war  against  the  citizens  of  another  nation, 
3* 


30  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

they  being  at  peace,  forfeits  his  allegiance,  and  becomes 
an  outlaw  and  a  pirate." 

/       The  "  established  principle  of  the  law  of  nations,"  an- 
1    nounced  by  the  General,  was  not  recognized  by  the  Pre 
sident  when  his  own  personal  and  political  friends  were 
the  outlaws  and  pirates,  and  were  struggling  to  effect  an 
object  most  dear  to  his  own  heart.     On  the  10th  May, 
1836,  General  Gaines  transmitted  to  the  President  the 
news  of  the  victory  of  the  Texans  at  San  Jacinto,  over 
Santa  Anna,  and  indulged  the  anticipation  that  in  conse 
quence  of  the  victory,  "  THIS  MAGNIFICENT  ACQUISITION  TO 
^  OUR  UNION  "  would  grace  his  administration. 


REVIEW   OF    THE   MEXICAN   WAR.  31 


CHAPTER    IV. 


EFFORTS  OF  THE  ADMINISTRATION  TO  EXCITE  A  WAR  WITH 
MEXICO. 


u 

/THE  distracted  and  exhausted  state  of  Mexico,  the  energy 
and  rapidily  increasing  numbers  of  the  Texans,  the  vast 
supplies  they  were  daily  receiving  from  the  United  States, 
together  with  the  presence  of  a  friendly  army,  ready, 
when  necessary,  to  interpose  between  them  and  the 
enemy,  all  combined  to  render  die  issue  of  the  struggle 
certain.  Texas,  it  was  seen,  would  become  independent 
of  Mexico./  But  her  independence  would  not  necessarily 
add  to  the  political  power  of  the  slave-holding  interest  in 
the  United  States.  For  this  purpose  (f^iezationjNas  in 
dispensable.  /But  annexation  could  noT^e^effected  at 
present,  without  drawing  after  it  a  war  with  Mexico,  and 
this  obvious  consequence  strengthened  the  objections  en 


tertained  f.<tko  mog^jaLJilft-J^'tb.  It  was  well 
ascertained  that  no  treaty  of  annexation,  especially  at  the 
price  of  a  Mexican  war,  would  at  present  receive  the 
sanction  of  Congress.^  But,  if  Mexico  could  be  induced  to 
commence  hostilities  against  the  United  States,  or  should 
her  conduct  justify  a  declaration  of  war  against  h«r,  then 
one  powerful  obstacle  to  annexation  wouTcTbe  removed, 
and  Texas  would  become  ours,  by  right  of  conquest,  and 
with  the  unanimous  consent  of  her  inhabitants./  Every 
attempt  to  purchase  Texas  had  failed,  and  all  hope  of  ac 
quiring  it  by  this  means,  was  abandoned  on  the  termina 
tion  of  Mr.  Butler's  fruitless  mission.  /  From  this  time,  the 


32  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

policy  of  the  administration  was  to  force  Mexico  into  a 
The  commencement  of  this  new  policy  was  the  ad 
vance  of  American  troops  into  Texas,  on  the  pretence  of 
protecting  Hie  frontier  against_Indian$. 

On  the  oth  of  August,  1836,  the  Pi  esident,  in  :\  lettei 
to  the  Governor  of  Tennessee,  countermanded  a  requisi- 
sition  by  Gaines  for  troops,  assigning  this  remarkable  rea 
son  :  "  There  is  no  information  to  justify  the  apprehension 
of  hostilities  to  any  serious  extent  from  the  Western  In 
dians" 

The  victory  of  San  Jacinto  had  now  been  won,  and  the 
President  probably  thought  that  General  Gaines's  zeal  in 
behalf  of  Texas  was  putting  the  country  to  unnecessary 
expense.  Why  the  order  countermanding  the  General's 
requisition  was  not  given  through  the  Secretary  of  War 
does  not  appear.  Possibly  it  was  deemed  most  prudent 
not  to  put  the  important  admission  we  have  quoted,  on 
record  in  the  War  Office,  and  it  is  to  some  accident  or 
carelessness  that  we  are  indebted  for  this  letter,  amoiw 

o 

the   official  documents  published  by  Congress.     Let  its 
date  be  kept  in  mind.     5th  August,  1836. 

On  the  10th  of  the  succeeding  September,  the  Mexican 
Minister  at  Washington  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  State, 
and,  referring  to  some  newspaper  statements  that  the 
Cv  -?^teS  ^tates  Droops  had  invaded  the  Mexican  territory, 
avfiSBScLthat,  if  this  invasion  was  sanctioned  by  the  Gov 
ernment,  his  mission  must  terminate./  And  what  reply 
was  returned  ?  Did  the  Government  apologize  for  the 
invasion  as  having  been  induced  by  false  reports  ?  Did  it 
acknowledge,  that  there  was  now  "  no  information  to 
justify  the  apprehension  of  hostilities  to  any  serious  ex 
tent  from  our  Western  Indians,"  and  that  therefore  the 
troops  should  be  immediately  recalled  ?  Far  different  was 
the  response  returned.  The  Secretary  of  State  admitted 


REVIEW    OP    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  33 

that  American  troops  were  then  stationed  at  Nagadoches, 
and  further,  that  on  the  4th  of  that  month  the  President  had 
instructed  General  Gaines  to  enter  the  Mexican  territory, 
if  he  shall  be  satisfied,  "  that  any  body  of  Indians  who 
disturb  the  peace  of  the  frontier  of  the  United  States, 
receive  assistance  or  shelter  within  the  Mexican  terri 
tory." 

^The  Minister  denied  that  Mexico  had  any  wish  to  ex 
cite  the  Indians  against  the  United  States,  and  he  formally 
demanded  the  withdrawal  of  the  troops  from  the  Mexican 
territory  (Texas).  /This  demand  was,  op— the  13th  Octo- 
.feer,  met  by  a  flat  refusal^/a  refusal  coupled  with  insult, 
The  Minister  was  informed  by  our  Secretary  of  State,  that 
by  treaty  each  party  was  bound  to  restrain  its  own  Indi 
ans  from  making  hostile  incursions  upon  the  territories  of 
the  other ;  and,  as  Mexico  had  not  the  ability  to  fulfil  her 
engagement,  the  United  States  had  the  right  in  self- 
defence  to  occupy  her  territory y  Not  a  particle  of  evi 
dence  was  adduced  to  show  that  the  frontiers  of  the 
United  States  were  menaced  by  Mexican  Indians — not  an 
argument  advanced  to  prove  the  necessity  of  our  army 
advancing  into  Texas  in  self-defence,  and  the  whole  pre 
text  is  stamped  with  the  brand  of  impudent  falsehood,  by 
the  confession  made  to  the  .Governor  of  Tennessee  by  the 
President  in  the  letter  we  have  quoted. 

^Two  days  after  this  insult  to  Mexico,  her  Minister  de- 
manded  his  passports.*  This,  was  a  great  point  gm'npd 
by  the  administration.  Diplomatic  intercourse  with  Mex 
ico  was  so  far  interrupted  ;  and  the  rupture,  if  properly 
managed,  might  result  in  war,  and  consequently  in  annex- 
ationy^While  in  the  very  act  of  inflicting  the  grossest 
outrages  upon  Mexico,  and  amid  professions  of  neutrality 
^asuaj4emliis-4ii^-wei!e-felse,  the  administration  thought  it 

*  See  Ex.  Doc.,  2d  Sess.,  24th  Cong.  Vol  I, 


•34  REVIEW  OF  TIII:  MEXICAN  WAR. 

expedient  to  raise  a  note  of  wailing  for  the  injuries  com 
mitted  by  Mexico  upon  American  citizens,  accompanied 
with  fhn  most,  ohst.rapftrons  clamors  for  compensation,/ 

The  public  have  heard  much,  but  understood  little, 
about  "  Our  claims  upon  Mexico/'  It  is  not  probable  that 
one  in  a  thousand  of  those  who  declaim  about  Mexican 
outrages,  as  justifying  the  war  against  that  Republic, 
know  whereof  they  affirm.  ^Before  entering  upon  an  ex 
amination  of  our  claims  upon  Mexico,  it  may  be  well  to 
state  two  of  the  general  principles  which,  by  the  laws  and 
usages  of  nations,  limit  the  interference  of  a  government 
in  behalf  of  the  demands  of  its  citizens  upon  foreign  pow 
ers  for  the  redress  of  alleged  grievances. 
I  Si  Complaints  growing  out  of  contracts  entered  into  by 
citizens  of  one  country  with  the  Government  of  another, 
are  not  properly  subjects  for  international  discussion. 
Our  Government  would  not  tolerate  for  a  moment,  a  re 
monstrance  from  the  British  Cabinet  in  behalf  of  an  Eng 
lishman  employed  in  our  arsenals  or  ship  -yards,  who 
complained  that  he  had  not  been  paid  his  stipulated 


by  treaty  a  foreigner  is  entitled  to  seek  redress 
in  the  courts  of  the  country  in  which  his  alleged  injury 
has  been  received,  his  Government  is  not  permitted  to 
convert  his  wrong,  whether  real  or  imaginary,  into  a 
national  grievance.  Should  an  English  subject  be  as 
saulted  in  our  streets,  defrauded  by  his  debtor,  or  falsely 
imprisoned  by  a  police  officer,  his  Government  could  not 
demand  of  ours  redress  for  his  sufferings.  Were  these 
two  principles  to  be  disregarded,  and  were  Governments 
to  insist  on  sitting  in  judgment  on  the  contracts  their  sub 
jects  might  form  with  foreign  powers,  or  on  the  quarrels 
in  which  they  might  be  involved  abroad,  it  is  very  evident 
that  the  peace  of  the  world  would  be  perpetually  dis- 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  35 

turbed.  Yet  these  principles,  as  wo  chall  ccc  hereafter, 
have  been  set  at  naught  in  many  of  the  claims  preferred 
by  the  American  Government  on  that  of  Mexico.  1 

But  the  subject  of  these  claims  is  so  important  in  itself, 
and  so  indicative  of  the  determination  of  the  Cabinet  at 
Washington  to  provoke  a  war  with  Mexico,  as  to  demand 
a  separate  chapter. 


36  REVIEW    OF    THE   MEXICAN    WAR. 


CHAPTER    V. 

CLAIMS  ON  MEXICO,  AND  WAR  RECOMMENDED  BY  THE  PRESI 
DENT  TO  ENFORCE  THEM. 

ON  the  20th  July,  1836,  shortly  after 4k«--rrctrttyt)f~San 
Jaeifiio,  and  the  captivity -of-  ihcrPresidtBntTJf  Mexico,  the 
Secretary  of  State  sent  to  Mr.  Ellis,  JWH?-  Minister,  a  list  of 
fifteen  complaints  against  the  Republic,  accompanied 
the  strange  acknowledgment  that  "**  the  Department  -4s 
not  in  possession  of  proof  of  all  the  circumstances  of  the 
wrong  done  in  the  above  cases,  as  represented  by  the 
aggrieved  parties. "-^The  Cabinet  deemed  it  expedient  to 
prefer  the  complaints  without  loss  of  time,  and  to  seek 
afterwards  for  proof  to  establish  them.  * 

But  the  most  extraordinary  part  of  this  procedure,  and 
which  reveals  the  anxiety  of  the  Government  to  bring  on 
a  rupture  with  Mexico,  is  the  course  prescribed  to  Ellis. 
He  is  ordered  to  demand  such  reparation  "  as  these  accu 
mulated  wrongs  may  be  found  to  require."  If  no  satis 
factory  answer  shall  be  given  in  three  weeks,  he  was  to 
announce,  that,  unless  redress  shall  be  afforded  without 
unnecessary  delay,  his  further  residence  would  be  useless. 
If  this  threat  proved  unavailing,  he  was  .to  notify  the 
Government  that,  unless  a  satisfactory  answer  was  re 
turned  in  two  weeks,  he  should  ask  for  his  passport,  and 
at  the  expiration  of  the  fortnight,,  he  is  to  return  home,  i£- 
n_OLsatisfautuiv  a**s3E£r  is-mggjyed.  The  Mexican  Minister 
had  already,  for  the-reasoas  we  -have  •  stated,  left  Wash 
ington  ;  and  kerc-flne-see  a  contrivance  for  withdrawing  our 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  3? 

Minister  from  Mexico  in  a  manner  highly  irritating  and 
insulting.  All  diplomatic  relations  between  the  two  coun 
tries  being  thus  interrupted,  and  for  the  alleged  reason 
that  Mexico  had  refused  to  pay  our  just  demands,  the  way 
would  be  open  for  reprisals,  and  consequently  war  would 
follow^f  9 

•It  will  be  observed,  too.  that  the  responsibility  of  tak- 

GJL>ODxAJe. 

mg  the  momentous  step  which  was  almost  necessarily  to 

lead  to  hostilities,  was  adroitly  thrown  upon  tho  discretion 
-e£-?T  Mississippi  slaveholder,  eager  to  enlarge  the  slave 
territory  by  the  annexation  of  Texas.  Mr.  Ellis  was  to 
judge  whether  the  reparation  offered  was  such  as  our 
"  accumulated  wrongs"  required  ;  he  was  to  decide  what 
was  unnecessary  delay,  and  he  alone  to  determine  whether 
the  answers  he  received  were  or  were  not  satisfactory.  / 

We  will  now  notice  the  fifteen  grievances,  the  redress 
of  which  in  a  manner  which  Mr.  Powhatten  Ellis  might 
deem  sufficiently  satisfactory  and  prompt,  was  to  be  the 
sine  qua  non  of  peace  or  war.  We  entreat  the  reader's 
patience  while  we  enumerate  these  grievances,  and  the 
replies  to  them,  because  as  he  will  see  hereafter,  it  was  for 
these  that  our  diplomatic  intercourse  with  Mexico  was 
broken  off,  and  that  the  President  recommended  to  Con 
gress,  a  measure  equivalent  to  a  declaration  of  war.  The 
claims  afterwards  urged,  can  of  course  afford  no  justifica 
tion  or  apology  for  the  conduct  of  the  administration, 
founded  exclusively  on  the  fifteen  transmitted  to  Mr. 
Ellis.  They  were  in  substance  as  follows  : 
/  1.  An  American,  of  the  name  of  Baldwin,  had  in  1832, 
unjust  judgments  given  against  him  in  the  Mexican  courts, 
and  on  one  occasion,  on  account  of  an  altercation  between 
him  and  a  magistrate,  he  was  sentenced  to  the  stocks. 
He  resisted,  and  attempted  to  escape,  and  fell  and  injured 
4 


38  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

his  leg.     He  was  thereupon  seized,  put  into  the  stocks, 
and  afterwards  imprisoned. 

2.  The  American  vessel  Topaz,  was  chartered  by  the 
Mexican   Government  in   1832,  to  convey  troops.     The 
master  and  mate,  were  murdered  by  the  soldiers,  the  crew 
imprisoned,  and  the  vessel  seized  and  used  in  the  Mexican 
service. 

5.  The  American  vessel  Brazoria,  was  seized  in  1832,  and 
employed  in  a  military  expedition,  without  compensation. 

4.  Two  American  steamboats  were  taken  possession  of 
by  Mexican  officers,  and  used  without  compensation, 
in  1832, 

3.  Capt.  McKeige  was  imprisoned  at  Tabasco,  in  1834, 
and  an  enormous  fine  imposed  upon  him,  "  without  cause.'' 

6.  The  American  vessel  Paragon,  was  causelessly  fired 
into  by  a  Mexican  schooner,  in  1834. 

7.  The   American   brig    Ophir,   was    seized   and  con 
demned  in  1835,  at  Campeachy,  because  by  some  mistake, 
the  proper  papers  were  not  shown  at  the  Custom-house. 

8.  The  American  vessel  Martha,  was  seized  at  Galves- 
ton,  in   1835,  for  alleged  violation  of  the  revenue  laws, 
and  the  passengers,  accused  of  an  intention  to  use  fire 
arms  against  a  guard  placed  on  board,  were  put  in  irons. 

9.  The  American  vessel  Hannah  Elizabeth,  stranded  in 
1835,  on  the  coast,  was  boarded  by  soldiers,  and  the  crew 
imprisoned,  and  pillaged  of  their  clothes.     The  crew  were 
afterwards  released. 

10.  Two  American  citizens  were  arrested  in  Metamoras, 
in  1836,  by  a  party  of  soldiers,  who  struck  one  of  them 
in  the  face  with  a  sword.     They  were  temporarily  confined 
on  suspicion  of  an  intention  to  proceed  to  Texas.     Sen 
tinels  were  placed  at  the  CONSUL'S  door,  under  false  pre 
tences.     Soldiers  broke  into  his  gate,  searched  his  house, 
and  took  from  his  yard  a  mare  and  two  mules. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  39 

11.  Mr.  Slocum,  bearer  of  despatches,  was  in  1836, 
detained  and  fined,  for  carrying  official  letters. 

12.  The   American  schooner   Eclipse,  was   in    1836, 
detained  at  Tabasco,  and  her  master  and  crew,  mal-treated 
by  the  authorities. 

13.  The  American  schooner  Compeer,  and  other  vessels, 
were  in  1836,  forcibly  detained  at  Metamoras. 

14.  The   United   States   revenue-cutter  Jefferson,   in 
1836,  arrived  off  the  harbor  of  Tampico,  and  was  forbidden 
to  enter.      An  officer  and  boat's  crew,  on  landing,  were 
temporarily  arrested. 

15.  The  American  vessel  Northampton,  was  wrecked 
in  1836,  near  Tabasco,  and  taken  possession  of  by  Cus 
tom-house  officers  and  soldiers.     The  crew  remonstrated, 
and  the  captain  was  wounded.     More  than  half  of  the 
goods  saved  from  the  wreck  were  pillaged,  and  lost,  by  the 
revenue  officers  and  soldiers.     The  Consul  complained, 
but  obtained^  no  redress.^^  ^^ 

Such  are  the  fifteen  "  accumulated  wrongs,"  complained 
of  by  the  American  Government,  and  ordered  to  be  for 
mally  presented  by  Mr.  Ellis.  It  will  be  observed,  that 
not  one  of  them  is  alleged  to  have  been  committed  by  the 
Mexican  Government.  No  law,  no  act  of  the  Government, 
is  complained  of.  Custom-house  officers  may  act  illegally, 
and  soldiers  may  commit  outrages,  police  officers  and 
magistrates  may  be  guilty  of  oppression,  and  yet  the 
Government  be  wholly  ignorant  of  the  offences  committed. 
Millions  and  millions  of  American  property  have  been 
seized,  by  virtue  of  orders  issued  directly  by  the  Govern 
ments  of  England  and  France ;  yet  in  no  intstance,  did 
the  American  Cabinet  venture  to  hazard  the  peace  of  the 
country,  by  demanding  reparation  within  a  specified 
number  of  days.  On  the  contrary,  the  settlement  of  our 
claims  upon  other  nations,  was  preceded  by  protracted  , 


40  REVIEW  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAR. 

negotiations.  Our  claims  for  the  value  of  slaves  carried 
away  by  the  British  forces,  in  1815,  were  not  settled  and 
paid,  till  1826.  Indemnity  for  French  spoliations  on  our 
commerce,  from  1806  to  1813,  was  not  received  till  1834. 
In  these  cases,  our  claims  were  not  a  pretext  for  war,  and 
consequently  their  payment  was  not  hazarded  by  an 
insulting  demand  for  a  satisfactory  reply  in  two  weeks. 

Several  of  the  fifteen  complaints  we  have  enumerated, 
if  well  founded,  did  not  justify  national  interference, 
being  injuries  for  which  the  sufferers  were  entitled  to  seek 
redress  in  the  Mexican  courts  ;  others  were  proper  sub 
jects  for  inquiry  and  remonstrance  ;  not  one  afforded  a 
legitimate  cause  for  war,  for  not  one  had  been  ordered,  or 
as  yet  justified  by  the  Mexican  Government. 

The  extreme  haste  with  which  Mexico  was  required  to 
redress  these  complaints,  is  the  more  extraordinary  when 
we  recollect,  that  the  alleged  grievances  were  mostly  of 
recent  date.  The  complaint  of  Baldwin,  was  the  oldest, 
viz. :  five  years  standing ;  three  others  occurred  four  years 
before,  two  in  1834,  three  in  1835,  and  the  other  nine 
within  less  than  twelve  months  of  the  instructions  to 
Mr.  Ellis. 

It  so  happened,  that  before  Mr.  Forsyth's  despatch 
reached  the  minister,  two  of  the  fifteen  wrongs,  the 

O     " 

eleventh  and  fourteenth,  had  been  settled  to  the  satisfac 
tion  of  the  latter.  Through  the  ignorance  of  a  Post-master, 
Mr.  Slocum  had  been  fined  $6,  for  a  supposed  violation  of 
the  law  in  carrying  letters.  The  government,  on  learning 
the  affair,  censured  the  Post-master,  and  remitted  the  fine. 
The  revenue  cutter  Jefferson  was  refused  admittance 
into  the  harbor  of  Tampico,  only  because  the  port  was 
closed  against  all  foreign  vessels,  without  exception  ;  and 
the  commander  of  Tampico,  had  been  removed  for  his 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  41 

harshness  in  temporarily  confining  the  American  officer 
and  crew  who  had  landed. 

On  the  26th  September,  Ellis  laid  before  the  Mexican 
Minister  in  writing,  the  thirteen  remaining  grievances,  and 
was  promptly  assured  that  they  would  be  investigated. 
As  most  of  these  complaints  related  to  acts  recently  com 
mitted  by  Custom-house  officers  and  other  officials,  it  was 
probable  that  the  letter  of  the  26th  September,  was  the 
first  notice  of  them,  that  the  Government  had  ever  re 
ceived  ;  yet  on  the  20th  October  following,  less  than  four 
weeks  from  the  date  of  the  first  letter,  Ellis  announced  to 
the  Government,  that  unless  the  wrongs  complained  of, 
are  redressed  without  unnecessary  delay,  "  his  farther  resi 
dence  in  Mexico  would  be  useless." 

To  this  insulting  missive,  a  calm,  dignified  reply  was 
returned  the  next  day.  Ellis  is  reminded  that  a  delay  in 
answering  a  note  is  not  a  sufficient  cause  for  breaking  off 
a  negotiation  ;  and  that,  to  decide  on  the  grievances  pre 
sented,  documents  were  to  be  collected  from  various  offices 
in  different  parts  of  the  Republic.  He  was  informed,  that 
measures  had  already  been  taken  to  procure  the  requisite 
documents,  and  promised  that,  when  these  were  received, 
the  decision  of  the  government  would  be  communicated 
to  him.  Well  did  John  Quincy  Adams  remark  in  a  note 
to  his  printed  speech  in  Congress  in  1838,  "  From  the 
day  of  the  battle  of  San  Jacinto,  every  movement  of  the 
administration  of  this  Union  appears  to  have  been  made 
for  the  express  purpose  of  breaking  off  negotiations,  and 
precipitating  a  Avar,  or  of  frightening  Mexico  into  the  ces 
sion  of  not  only  Texas,  but  the  whole  course  of  the  Rio  del 
Norte,  and  Jive  degrees  of  latitude  across  their  continent  to 
the  South  Sea.  The  instructions  of  the  20th  July,  1836, 
from  the  Secretary  of  State  to  Mr.  Ellis  almost  imme 
diately  after  the  battle,  were  evidently  premeditated  to 


42  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

produce  rupture,  and  were  but  too  faithfully  carried  into 
execution.  His  (Ellis's)  letter  of  the  20th  October,  1836, 
to  Mr.  Monosterio  was  the  premonitory  symptom,  and  no 
true-hearted  citizen  of  this  union  can  read  it,  and  the 
answer  to  it  on  the  next  day  by  Mr.  Monasterio,  without 
blushing  for  his  country."  But  neither  Ellis  nor  his  em 
ployers  were  in  the  habit  of  blushing  ;  and  on  the  4th 
November  the  Minister,  in  pursuance  of  his  instructions, 
gave  formal  notice  that,  unless  his  complaints  were  satis 
factorily  answered  in  two  weeks,  he  should  demand  his 
passports ! 

It  was  only  to  a  feeble  nation,  and  one  whose  hostility 
was  courted  for  ulterior  designs,  that  the  administration 
would  have  hazarded  such  insolence.  Mexico,  sensible 
of  her  feebleness,  did  not  resent  the  insult,  and  Mr.  Ellis 
received  an  answer  within  the  number  of  days  he  had  as 
signed.  The  Mexican  Secretary  remarked  that,  by  the 
existing  treaty,  citizens  of  either  country  were  entitled  to 
bring  their  grievances  before  the  tribunals  of  the  other,  and 
hence  it  was  unnecessary  for  their  respective  governments 
to  interfere  to  procure  that  justice  for  them  which  the  courts 
of  law  were  ready  to  afford  ;*  and  that  complaints  against 

*  The  14th  Art,  of  the  treaty  between  the  United  States  and 
Mexico  guaranteed  protection  to  the  persons  and  property  of 
the  citizens  of  each,  "  leaving  open  and  free  to  them  the  tribu 
nals  of  justice  for  their  judicial  recourse,  on  the  same  terms 
which  are  usual  and  customary  with  the  natives  or  citizens  of 
the  country  in  which  they  may  be."  Mr.  Forsyth  availed  him 
self  of  this  article  of  the  treaty  in  his  reply  (January  29th, 
1836),  to  a  demand  from  the  Mexican  Government  for  the  pun 
ishment  of  the  Captain  of  an  American  armed  ship,  for  an  al 
leged  outrage  committed  by  him  on  a  Mexican  vessel.  The  Sec 
retary  remarked,  "  That  ike  court*  of  the  United  States  arc.  frcc'y 
open  to  all  persons  in  their  jurisdiction,  irhn  mat/  consider  themselves 
to  have  been  aggrieved  in  contravention  of  o-ur  lays  and  treaties." 
This  application  of  the  treaty  to  Mexican  complaints  was  ex 
ceedingly  convenient;  but  its  application  to  American  complaints 
was  indignantly  refused  by  Mr.  Ellis  in  his  reply  of  the  15th 
November  of  the  same  year.  He  declared  that  "  the  opinion  ex- 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  43 

officers  of  the  customs  should  not  be  made  subjects  of  ne- 
gociation,  for  the  reason  that  Americans  have  the  same 
means  of  redress  in  the  tribunals  of  the  country  as  the 
Mexicans  themselves.  Nevertheless,  the  government  will 
not  decline  to  examine  the  complaints  preferred  by  Mr. 
Ellis.  These,  it  will  be  recollected,  had  been  reduced  to 
thirteen,  and  they  were  thus  answered  : 

1.  As  to  Mr.  Baldwin,  whatever  may  have  been  his 
wrongs,   he    ought  to  have    sought   redress  in  Mexican 
courts.     It  was  probable  his  behavior  had  been  improper, 
as  six  criminal  prosecutions  were  pending  against  him. 
The  government  had  no  power  to  interfere  between  liti 
gant  parties  in  courts  of  justice  ;    but  it  had  signified  to 
the  authorities  the  wish  that  justice  might  be  awarded  to 
Baldwin  with  promptitude  and  impartiality. 

2.  The  government  understands  that  the  Topaz  which 
was  chartered  to  convey  troops,  was  wrecked ;  that,  after 
she  was  stranded,  and  while  the  soldiers  were  in  the  hold, 
the  American  crew  shut  the  hatches  upon  them,  and  mur 
dered  three  Mexican  officers  who  were  upon  deck.     That 
the  object  of  the  crew  was  to  carry  off  the  money  on 
board  ;  that  the  soldiers  forced  the  hatches,  attacked  the 
crew,  killed  one,  and  secured  the  others  for  trial. 

3.  The  Brazoria  was  pressed  into  the  service  of  the 
Texan  colonists  by  Austin,  and  had  been  abandoned  by 
her  owner  with  protest  for  loss  and  damages.     The  Minis 
ter  of  War  had  ordered  her  to  be  sold,  and  the  proceeds 
paid    into   the   treasury.      On  proof  of  ownership,  the 
Government  was  ready  to  pay  an  equitable  indemnity. 

4.  As  to  the  steam-boats  detained,  the  government  had 

pressed  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Monasterio  which  limits  the  citizens 
of  the  United  States  having  certain  claims  against  the  Govern 
ment,  to  resort  to  the  judicial  tribunals  of  "Mexico  for  indem 
nity,  is  wholly  indefensible." 
Ex.  Documents,  24th  Congress,  2  Sess.,  Vol.  3.,  Doc.  139, 


44  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

a  contract  with  the  owner,  who  is  now  in  debt  to  the 
Government.  Nothing  is  due  to  him  ;  but  if  lie  thinks 
otherwise,  let  him  establish  his  claims  before  the  tri 
bunals. 

5.  The  case  of  Captain  Keige  has  been  investigated, 
and  the  Government  has  ordered  the  offending  officer  to 
be  prosecuted,  and  will  indemnify  Captain  Keige. 

G.  Orders  have  been  given  for  the  trial  of  the  officer 
who  fired  into  the  Paragon ;  but  the  result  of  the  trial  is 
not  yet  known. 

7.  In  the  case  of  the  Ophir  no  wrong  was  done.     The 
vessel  was  properly  condemned  for  want  of  the  necessary 
papers.     An  appeal  was  taken  to  a  higher  court,  before 
which  the  missing  papers  were  produced,  and  the  vessel 
discharged. 

8.  The  Government  is  wholly  ignorant  of  the  case  of 
the  Martha,  and  has  called  for,  but  not  yet  received,  in 
formation  upon  the  subject. 

9.  In  regard  to  the  case  of  the  Hannah  Elizabeth,  the 
government  had  called  for,  but  not  yet  received,  a  state 
ment  of  the  transaction. 

10.  The  Government  is  ignorant  of  the  proceedings  at 
Metamoras,  and  has  called  for  information. 

This  information  was  soon  after  received,  and  Mr.  Ellis 
was  informed  that,  on  the  arrival  at  Metamoras  of  the 
commander  of  that  city ;  he  understood  that  two  stran 
gers  had  just  departed,  who  were  supposed  to  be  Texan 
spies.  He  sent  four  dragoons  after  them,  who  saw  them 
enter  a  house  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city.  Finding  a  mare 
and  two  mules  in  the  yard,  the  soldiers  removed  the  ani 
mals  to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  strangers.  The  soldiers 
then  entered  the  house,  and  arrested  the  two  men,  who 
on  examination  were  found  to  have  passports,  and  were 
allowed  to  proceed  on  their  journey,  and  the  animals  were 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  45 

returned.  It  was  not  till  after  the  affair  that  the  com 
mandant  learned  that  the  house  was  occupied  by  the 
American  Consul. 

11.  The  Government  was  uninformed  of  the  affair  of 
the  Eclipse,  but  would  make  the  proper  inquiries. 

12.  The  Compeer  and  other  vessels  were  detained  a 
few  days  at  Metamoras,  in  consequence  of  a  general  em 
bargo  on  all  vessels  without  distinction,  imposed  by  the 
Commander  of  that  department,  without  the  knowledge 
of  the  Government,  which  disapproved  of  and  revoked  it. 

13.  The  Government  knows  nothing  of  the  case  of  the 
Northampton,  but  has  called  for  information. 

Such  were  "  the  accumulated  wrongs  "  for  which  the 
Cabinet  determined  to  break  off  all  intercourse  with 
Mexico.  It  is  rare,  indeed,  that  diplomatic  history  exhi 
bits  ar  series  of  national  complaints  so  trivial  in  themselves, 
urged  with  so  much  spleen  and  arrogance  on  the  one 
side,  or  met  with  so  much  fairness  and  good  temper  on 
the  other.  To  the  thirteen  grievances  forwarded  from 
Washington,  Mr.  Ellis  had  thought  proper  to  add  Jive 
more  without  instructions,  and  we  therefore  continue  the 
catalogue  of  grievances,  viz.  : 

14.  The  American  Consul  at  Tampico  had,  May  26th, 
1836,  been  summoned  by  the  authorities  to  authenticate 
certain  papers,  and  on  his  refusal  had  been  threatened 
with  imprisonment. — To  this  it  was  replied,  that  the  Go 
vernment  was  ignorant  of  the  circumstances,  but  would 
investigate  the  matter. 

15.  The   American  vessel,    Peter    D.   Yroom,   being 
wrecked  on  the  coast,  June,  1836,  the  American  Consul 
had  the  cargo  brought  to  Vera  Cruz,  where  the  consignee 
abandoned  it  to  the  underwriters.     Whereupon  the  Mexi 
can  Court  appointed  an  agent  for  the  underwriters,  who 
sold  the  cargo,  and  the  demand  of  the  American  Consul 


46  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAH. 

to  receive  the  proceeds  was  refused. — To  this  the  Mexi 
can  Secretary  replied,  that  as  the  underwriters  had  ap 
pointed  no  agent,  the  Court  did  right  to  appoint  one  for 
them,  and  that  the  Consul  had  no  official  authority  in  the 
premises. 

16.  Ellis  complained  that  copies  of  certain  judicial  pro 
ceedings  in  the  case  of  the  brig  Aurora  had  been  refused 
to  the  American  Consul.  —  He  was  informed  that  the 
copies  were  offered  to  him,  but  that  he  refused  to  pay  the 
legal  fees  charged  for  making  the  copies. 

17.  The  American  vessel  Bethlehem  was  seized  by  a 
Mexican  armed  vessel  on  the  2nd  September,   1836,  and 
the  crew  detained  twenty  days,  and  then  landed,  the  ves 
sel  confiscated,  and  the  captain  refused  a  copy  of  the 
proceedings. — The  Government  knew  nothing  of  the  affair, 
but  would  make  inquiries. 

18.  The  American  vessel  Fourth   of  July  had  been 
taken  possession  of  by  Mexican  soldiers. — It  turned  out 
that  the  vessel  had  been  built  for  the  Mexican  Govern 
ment.      The  agent  had  contracted  before  a  notary  for  the 
sale ;  but  a  party  of  soldiers  had  been  sent  on  board  pre 
vious  to  the  delivery  of  the  bill  of  sale.     The  owner  had 
been  paid  for  his  vessel,  and  made  no  complaint.'* 

We  have  now  the  sum-total  of  all  the  complaints  against 
Mexico,  which  the  joint  efforts  of  Messrs.  Forsyth  and 
Ellis  could  collect.  We  can  readily  imagine  the  storm  of 
indignation  and  resentment  which  such  a  budget  presented 
by  the  British  Government  to  that  at  Washington,  with  a 
demand  for  a  satisfactory  answer  in  fourteen  days,  would 
raise  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  Federal 

*  Mr.  Forsyth  having  heard  of  this  case,  wrote  to  Ellis,  De 
cember  9th,  1836,  as  "  the  owners  of  the  brig  Fourth  of  July 
are  content,"  he  is  not  to  insist  on  the  restoration  of  the  vessel, 
but  only  to  demand  satisfaction  for  the  insult  offered  to  the 
American  Flag  ! ! 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  47 

Republic.  The  tone  assumed  by  Mr.  Ellis  was  not  less 
offensive  than  the  pretended  grievances  themselves.  Of 
that  tone,  we  may  form  some  opinion  from  the  dignified 
conclusion  of  the  Mexican  answer : 

"Your  Excellency,  after  specifying  all  the  subjects 
which  have  been  thus  replied  to,  goes  on  to  say,  that  the 
Mexican  armed  vessels  have  fired  upon  and  insulted  the 
flag  of  the  United  States,  that  her  consuls  have  been  mal 
treated  and  insulted  by  the  authorities,  private  citizens 
assassinated,  arrested,  and  scourged,  like  malefactors,  their 
property  condemned  and  confiscated,  &c.,  &c.  But  as 
these  charges  are  made  in  terms  so  general,  the  Supreme 
Government  of  the  Republic  desires  that  they  may  be 
specified,  before  taking  them  into  consideration." 

Let  us  now  see  the  character  of  the  eighteen  specified 
grievances,  as  explained  by  the  Mexican  Government. 
The  cases  of  the  Topaz  (No.  2),  Brazoria  (No.  3),  Captain 
Kiege  (No.  5),  the  Paragon  (No.  6),  the  Opliir  (No.  7), 
the  affair  at  Metamoras  (No.  10),  the  case  of  the  Com 
peer  (No.  12),  the  Peter  D.  Vroom  (No.  15),  the  Au 
rora  (No.  16),  and  the  Fourth  of  July  (No.  18),  are  ut 
terly  divested  of  all  wrong  and  injustice  on  the  part  of 
the  Mexican  Government. 

There  remain  only  eight  of  the  whole  budget  which 
afford  the  least  room  for  complaint ;  and  of  these  the 
Government  professed  entire  ignorance  in  the  case  of  the. 
Martha  (No.  8),  the  Hannah  Elizabeth  (No.  9),  the 
Eclipse  (No.  11),  the  Northampton  (No.  13),  the  treat 
ment  of  the  Consul  at  Tampico  (No.  14),  and  the  Beth 
lehem  (No.  17).  It  was  not  pretended  that  the  injuries 
complained  of  in  these  six  cases  had  been  inflicted  by 
orders  from  the  Government ;  and  it  might  readily  be 
believed  that  the  Government  was  not  acquainted  with 
every  abuse  of  power  by  its  officials.  But  in  each  of  these 


48  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR, 

cases,  an  inquiry  was  promised  ;  and  it  is  difficult  to  con 
ceive  what  more  could  have  been  reasonably  demanded. 
We  have  now  left  only  two  cases  within  the  knowledge  of 
the  Government,  at  all  open  to  the  suspicion  of  injustice 
and  oppression — the  case  of  Baldwin  (No.  1),  and  of  the 
detained  steamboats  (No.  4).  Apparently  neither  was  a 
fit  subject  of  negotiation ;  for  the  complaints  in  the  first 
case  were  made  against  judicial  decisions,  which  can  never 
be  properly  brought  into  question  by  a  foreign  govern 
ment,  except  when  founded  on  some  great  principle  con 
tradicted  by  treaty  or  national  law,  and  not  on  mere 
issues  of  fact.  The  complaint  in  the  second  instance  ap 
pears  to  have  grown  out  of  a  contract  over  which  our  own 
Government  had  no  legitimate  cognizance. 

The  Cabinet  had  relieved  themselves  from  breaking  off 
the  negotiations  by  throwing  the  responsibility  of  it  upon 
Mr.  Ellis.  Their  confidence  in  this  gentleman  was  not 
misplaced.  After  receiving  from  the  Mexican  Secretary 
of  State  the  explanations  and  assurances  already  men 
tioned,  he  demanded  •  (7th  December)  his  PASSPORTS  ! 
The  Mexican  Government  begged  to  know/b?*  ivhat  cause 
he  took  a  step  so  calculated  to  affect  the  relations  of  the 
two  countries.  It  would  not  do  to  give  the  true  reason  : 
it*  was  difficult  to  frame  a  plausible  one  ;  and  Mr.  Ellis 
remained  silent. 

The  Mexican  Minister  had  left  Washington  on  account 
of  the  march  of  American  troops  into  Texas,  and  the 
claim  advanced  by  the  Government  of  the  right  to  send 
an  American  army  into  the  heart  of  Mexico,  if  necessary, 
to  guard  against  Indian  hostilities.  Mr.  Ellis  had  termin 
ated  his  mission  in  Mexico  in  the  exercise  of  the  discretion 
allowed  him,  adjudging  the  answers  made  to  the  eighteen 
complaints  unsatisfactory.  Negotiations  being  at  an  end, 
satisfaction  for  the  eighteen  grievances,  and  as  many  more 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  49 

as  we  could  find,  could  of  course  be  obtained  only  by 
force,  which  would  necessarily  lead  to  war,  and  that  as 
necessarily  to  the  immediate  annexation  of  Texas.  Ac 
cordingly,  on  the  6th  February,  1837,  the  President  hav 
ing  received  Mr.  Ellis's  report,  sent  a  Message  to  Con 
gress  on  the  subject  of  our  claims  upon  Mexico.  In  this 
document,  complaining  of  the  conduct  of  the  sister  Re 
public,  he  observed :  "  The  length  of  time  since  some  of 
the  injuries  have  been  committed,  the  repeated  and  un 
availing  applications  for  redress,  the  wanton  character  of 
some  of  the  outrages  upon  the  property  and  persons  of 
our  citizens,  upon  the  officers  and  flag  of  the  United 
States,  independent  of  recent  insults  to  this  Government 
and  people  by  the  late  extraordinary  Mexican  Minister, 
would  justify  in  the  eyes  of  all  nations  IMMEDIATE  WAR. 
That  remedy,  however,  should  not  be  used  by  just  and 
generous  nations,  confiding  in  their  strength,  for  injuries 
committed,  if  it  can  be  honorably  avoided;  and  it  has 
occurred  to  me  that,  considering  the  present  embarrassed 
condition  of  that  country,  we  should  act  both  with  wisdom 
and  moderation,  by  giving  to  Mexico  one  more  oppor 
tunity  to  atone  for  the  past,  before  we  take  redress  into 
our  hands." 

"  To  avoid  all  misconception  on  the  part  of  Mexico,  as 
well  as  to  protect  our  national  "character  from  reproach, 
this  opportunity  should  be  given  with  the  avowed  design 
and  full  preparation  to  take  immediate  satisfaction,  if  it 
should  not  be  obtained  on  a  repetition  of  the  demand  for 
it.  To  this  end,  I  recommend  that  an  act  be  passed, 
authorizing  reprisals  and  the  use  of  the  naval  force  of  the 
United  States,  by  the  Executive,  against  Mexico,  to  en 
force  them,  in  the  event  of  a  refusal  by  the  Jtfexican 
government,  to  come  to  an  amicable  adjustment  of  the 
matters  in  controversy  between  us,  upon  another  demand 


50  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

thereof,  made  on  board  one  of  our  vessels  of  war,  on  the 
coast  of  Mexico." 

The  cruelty  of  this  attempt  to  involve  the  two  countries 
in  war,  was  aggravated  by  the  very  character  of  the  re 
commendation.  No  specification  is  made  of  the  injuries 
we  have  received,  no  notice  is  taken  of  the  answers  re 
turned  to  the  eighteen  complaints,  no  mention  made  of 
the  amount  of  money  claimed.  The  President  is  to  be 
armed  with  power  to  take  immediate  satisfaction,  and  for 
this  purpose  the  navy  is  to  be  placed  at  his  disposal.  But 
to  what  amount  the  navy  is  to  plunder  the  commerce  and 
sea-ports  of  Mexico,  is  not  stated.  However,  before  a 
system  of  robbery  is  commenced,  a  demand  for  satis 
faction  (but  how  much  no  one  knows,)  is  to  be  sent  to 
the  Government  of  Mexico,  from  a  ship  of  war  off  Vera 
Cruz,  and  "  a  satisfactory  answer "  to  be  retnrned,  of 
course,  in  a  certain  number  of  days.  No  one  can  fail  to 
see  that  the  President  intended  WAR,  and  that  a  compli 
ance  with  his  recommendation  by  Congress  would  have 
been  equivalent  to  its  declaration.  The  country  was  not 
yet  prepared  to  commence  a  system  of  human  butchery, 
for  the  purpose  of  facilitating  the  acquisition  of  Texas  ;  and 
General  Jackson's  belligerent  proposition  found  but  little 
favor  with  either  house  of  Congress. 

But  the  reader  is  as  yet  only  partially  acquainted  with 
the  extreme  wickedness  of  this  proposal.  He  is  yet 
learn  that  only  six  months  before  the  date  of  this  mess 
the  President  had  himself  acknowledged  that  Mexico 
guiltless  of  the  conduct  he  now  imputed  to  her.  We 
again  advert  to  the  letter  of  the  5th  August,  1836,' 
already  quoted  in  the  preceding  chapter.  This  was  a  sort 
of  semi-official,  semi-confidential  epistle,  written,  not  at 
Washington,  but  at  the  President's  residence  in  Tennessee, 
and  addressed  to  the  Governor  of  that  State.  Governor 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  51 

Cannon  was,  doubtless,  no  less  anxious  than  his  friend,  for 
the  annexation  of  Texas,  even  at  the  cost,  if  necessary,  of 
a  war  with  Mexico.  General  Jackson  seems  to  have 
written  the  letter,  to  excuse  himself  for  countermanding 
Gaines's  order  for  troops,  and  for  not  facilitating  annex 
ation,  by  making  war  on  Mexico.  On  the  first  point  he 
tells  the  Governor  "  there  is  no  information  to  justify  the 
apprehension  of  hostilities  to  any  serious  extent,  from  the 
western  Indians."  But  was  not  the  frontier  endangered  by 
the  Mexicans  ?  Was  not  Mexico  virtually  waging  war 
upon  us  ?  Listen  to  the  solemn  assertions  made  by  the 
President's  ambassador  Ellis,  in  his  letter  to  the  Mexican 
Secretary  of  State,  on  the  26th  September,  only  a  few 
weeks  after  the  communication  made  to  Governor  Can 
non  : — "  The  flag  of  the  United  States  has  been  repeatedly 
insulted,  and  fired  upon  by  the  public  armed  vessels  of  this 
Government ;  her  consuls,  in  almost  every  port  of  the  Re 
public,  have  been  maltreated  and  insulted  by  the  public  au 
thorities  ;  her  citizens,  while  in  the  pursuit  of  a  lawful  trade, 
have  been  murdered  on  the  high  seas,  by  a  licentious  and 
unrestrained  soldiery.  Others  have  been  arrested  and 
scourged  in  the  streets  by  the  military,  like  malefactors — 
they  have  been  seized  and  imprisoned  under  the  most 
frivolous  pretexts — their  property  has  been  condemned 
and  confiscated  in  violation  of  existing  treaties,  and  the 
acknowledged  laws  of  nations,  and  large  sums  of  money 
have  been  exacted  of  them,  contrary  to  all  law."  Now,  in 
such  a  state  of  things,  how  did  General  Jackson  excuse 
himself  to  his  friend,  for  not  vindicating  the  rights  of  his 
country  ?  Very  easily.  All  the  grievances  we  could 
muster  were  but  eighteen,  and  Ellis's  vituperation  was  in 
tended  for  the  purpose  of  insult  and  exasperation  The 
President  well  knew,  as  the  result  proved,  that  Congress 
could  not  be  prevailed  on  to  declare  war  against  Mexico 


52  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

at  present,  and  hence  he  tells  Governor  Cannon :  "  Should 
Mexico  insult  our  national  flag,  invade  our  territory,  or 
interrupt  our  citizens  in  the  lawful  pursuits  which  are 
guaranteed  to  them  by  treaty,  then  the  Government  will 
promptly  repel  the  insult,  and  take  speedy  reparation  for 
the  injury.  BUT  IT  DOES  NOT  SEEM  THAT  OFFENCES  OF 

THIS  CHARACTER  HAVE  BEEN  COMMITTED  BY  MEXICO."*     Let 

it  not  be  forgotten,  that  this  confession  was  made  about 
two  weeks  after  the  date  of  the  instructions  to  Ellis 
already  mentioned,  and  which  were  obviously  intended  to 
produce  a  rupture  of  the  diplomatic  intercourse  between 
the  two  countries,  as  preparatory  to  war. 

*  See  this  remarkable  letter  in  Ex.  Doc.  2  Sess.  24  Cong.  Vol. 
1,  No.  2.  It  was  probably  intended  as  a  private  letter,  but 
almost  immediately  found  its  way  into  the  newspapers,  most 
likely  through  the  indiscretion  of  Governor  Cannon.  Being 
thus  made  public,  Mr.  Forsyth  made  use  of  it,  the  31s£  of  the  same 
month,  in  his  correspondence  with  the  Mexican  Minister,  send 
ing  him  a  newspaper  copy  of  the  letter,  as  evidence  of  the  Presi 
dent's  friendly  disposition  towards  Mexico ! 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  53 


CHAPTER    VI. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENT  OF  THE  INDEPENDENCE  OF  TEXAS. 

/THE  colonists  of  Texas  being  American  citizens,  at  no 
time  wished  to  remain  a  separate  and  independent  nation/ 
Their  highest  aspiration  was  to  see  their  lone  sta^aamitted 
into  the  American  constellation./  The  slave-holders  also 
were  adverse  to  the  rise  of  a  small  independent  State  on 
their  southern  borders — a  State  that  in  time  might  form 
a  barrier  to  the  progress  of  slavery.  It  was  the  policy  of 
the  Texans  to  stimulate  the  desire  of  the  slave-holders  for 
annexation,  andJbeace  within  fifteen  days  after  the  decla 
ration  of  independence,  they  adopted  a  constitution 
giving  the  rights  of  citizenship  to  all  white  emigrants,  after 
a  residence  of  six  months,  authorizing  emigrants  to  bring 
their  slaves  with  them,  and  rendering  human  bondage 
perpetual,  by  depriving  the  legislature  oi^he  power  to 
abolish  i,t.  A  boon  was  held  out  to  the  breeding  States,  ^ 
by-^rauting-them-the  monopoly  of  the  TexaTmrarket,  the 

F  importation  of  slavesHBeiiig^proriibited,  except  from  the 
United  States  f  Free  negroes  and  mulattoes,  it  is  well 
known,  are  regarded  by  the  'slave-holders  as  a  dangerous 
population.  In  Texas,  no  colonization  society  was  needed 
to  remove  such  nuisances  from  the  country.  By  the  Con 
stitution,  every  negro  and  every  mulatto,  now  or  in  future, 
remaining  on  the  soil  of  Texas,  was  doomed  to  bondage. 
There  was  still  one  more  lure  held  out  to  the  South.  Mr. 
Benton  had  calculated  that  nine  slave  States  might  be 
carved  out  of  Texas ;  but  his  vision  of  the  future  was  con 
fined  to  the  Mexican  province  of  that  name.  The  Ameri- 
5* 


54  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

can  insurgents,  however,  resolved  to  offer  to  the  slave- 
holding  interest,  not  a  single  province  only,  but  parts  of 
Coahuila,  Tamaulipas,  and  New  Mexico ;  and  accordingly 
voted  themselves,  on  the  19th  December,  1836,  the  vast 
territory  included  between  the  United  States  and  the  Rio 
Grande,  from  its  source  to  its  mouth.  To  proclaim,  more 
over,  their  eagerness  to  transfer  themselves  and  their  im 
mense  domain,  now  consecrated  to  slavery,  to  the  Federal 
Union,  a  poll  was  held  in  1836,  at  which  the  electors 
were  required  to  express  their  wish  for  annexation,  or  for 
a  separate  government.  The  result  Avas,  3279  votes  for 
annexation,  and  91  against  it.  This  vote  is  also  im 
portant,  as  showing  the  diminutive  population  of  the 
insurgent  State.  These  various  manifestations  were  not 
made  to  unwilling  or  unobservant  spectators. 

The  President,  while  full  of  complaints  against  the  ag 
gressions  of  Mexico,  sent  an  official  agent  (Henry  M. 
Morfit,)  into  Texas,  whose  report  of  the  good  land,  it  was 
hoped,  would  excite  the  American  people  to  go  up  and 
take  possession.  On  the  22d  December,  1836,  the  Pre 
sident  laid  before  Congress  a  communication  from  his 
agent,  on  the  "  Political,  military,  and  civil  condition  of 
Texas."  This  document  reveals  the  following  important 
facts  : — "  The  boundaries  claimed  by  Texas  will  extend 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande,  on  the  east  side,  up 
to  its  head  waters,  thence  on  a  line  due  north,  until  it  in 
tersects  that  of  the  United  States,  and  with  that  line  to  the 
Red  River,  on  the  northern  boundary  of  the  United  States, 
then  to  the  Sabine,  and  along  that  river  to  its  mouth,  and 
from  that  point  westwardly  with  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to 
the  Rio  Grande.  It  was  the  intention  of  the  Government, 
immediately  after  the  battle  of  San  Jacinto,  to  have  claim 
ed  from  the  Rio  Grande  along  the  river  to  30  degrees  of 
latitude,  and  then  ivest  to  the  Pacific.  It  was,  however, 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  55 

found  that  this  would  not  strike  a  convenient  point  on  the 
California,  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  control  a  wander- 
iug  population  so  distant,  and  that  the  territory  now  de 
termined  upon  would  be  sufficient  for  a  young  Republic. 
/  The  political  limits  of  Texas  proper,  previous  to  the  last 
revolution,  were  the  Nueces  river  on  the  west,  along  the  Red 
River  on  the  north,  the  Sabine  on  the  east,  and  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  on  the  south"*  / 

The  report  of  his  agent  in  Texas  was  accompanied  by 
the  President  with  certain  remarks  highly  characteristic 
of  the  policy  pursued  from  the  first  by  the  Federal  Go 
vernment  towards  that  province.  "  It  is  known,"  said 
the  President,  "  that  the  people  of  Texas  have  instituted 
the  same  form  ofi  government  with  our  own ;  and  have, 
since  the  close  of  your  last  session,  openly  resolved,  on 
the  acknowledgment  by  you  of  their  independence,  to  seek 
admission  into  the  Union  as  one  of  the  Federal  States. 
The  title  of  Texas  to  the  territory  she  claims  is  identified 
with  her  independence.  She  asks  us  to  acknowledge  that 
title  to  the  territory  with  an  avowed  design  immediately  to 
transfer  it  to  the  United  States."  Thus  we  have  a  diiect 
appeal  to  the  avarice  of  the  American  people  in  behalf  of 

annexation.  AThe  extravagant  claims  of  Texas  to  Mexican 

•1^**  x_*_  ° 

territory  fc£e/spread  before  Congress,  and  that  body  is 

reminded  that  the  title  to  these  vast  domains  is  identified 
with  the  independence^oL  Texas/  Let  us  acknowledge 
that  independence,  and  we  thereby  acknowledge  the  good 
ness  of  her  claims  ;  and,  as  soon  as  the  acknowledgment 
is  made,  all  Texas,  and  part  of  Coahuila,  Tamaulipas,  and 
most  of  New  Mexico,  will  be  ours.  The  influence  of  the 
tempter  was  in  no  degree  lessened  by  a  little  common 
place  cant  about  the  duty  of  avoiding  all  suspicion  of  act 
ing  from  interested  motives.  /  It  was  now  obvious  that,  as 

*  Ex.  Documents,  Vol.  2.     24  Cong.  2  Sess. 


56  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

Texas  could  not  be  purchased,  and  as  Mexico  would  pro 
bably  not  be  provoked  into  war,  the  acknowledgment  of 
Texan  independence  was  a  necessary  preliminary  to  an 
nexation.  But  there  was  a  powerful  and  vigilant  hostility 
at  the  North  against  every  measure  leading  to  the  acqui 
sition  of  more  slave  territory./  Pains  were,  therefore, 
taken  first  to  weaken  this  opposition  by  considerations  of 
personal  and  party  interest,  and,  secondly,  to  lull  its  ap 
prehensions  by  false  and  deceptive  suggestions  and  assur- 
runces.  Thus  President  Jackson,  in  the  Message  already 
quoted,  after  showing  how  exceedingly  profitable  to  the 
United  States  the  acknowledgment  of  Texan  independ 
ence  would  certainly  prove,  proceeded  to  allay  the  alarm 
of  the  North  which  his  own  representation  awakened,  by 
pretending  that  such  acknowledgment  must  be  indefinitely 
postponed.  "  Prudence,"  said  he,  "  seems  to  dictate 
that  we  should  still  stand  aloof,  and  maintain  our  present 
attitude,  if  not  till  Mexico  or  one  of  the  great  foreign 
powers  shall  recognize  the  independence  of  the  new  Go- 
v^rnment,  at  least  until  the  lapse  of  time,  or  the  course  of 
events,  shall  have  proved,  beyond  all  cavil  or  dispute,  the 
ability  of  that  country  to  maintain  tbA*  sepai^ite  sove 
reignty,  and  to  uphold  the  Government  constituted  by 
them." 

This  declaration,  so  frank  and  explicit,  and  made  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Session  oJ^pB^ress,  tended  to  pre 
vent  all  demonstration  of  popular  opinion  against  the  ac 
knowledgment,  and  all  pledges  on  the  subject  from  the 
Representatives  to  their  constituents. 

On  the  1st  of  March,  two  d^s  before  the  close  of  the 
Session,  and  in  the  absence  ortSix  members,  a  resolution 
passed  the  Senate  acknowledging  the  INDEPENDENCE  OF 
TEXAS.  Allusion  was  made  in  debate  to  the  objections 


REVIEW    OF    THE   MEXICAN    WAR.  57 

made  by  the  President  on  the  22d  of  the  preceding  De 
cember  to  such  a  measure.  To  the  astonishment  of  the 
public,  the  mover  of  the  resolution,  Mr.  Walker,  from 
Mississippi,  declared  in  his  place  that  he  "  had  it  from  the 
President's  own  lips  that,  if  he  were  a  Senator,  he  would 
vote  for  this  resolution."  Thus  the  lapse  of  time  and 
course  of  events,  contemplated  by  the  President  in  his 
Message,  were  ascertained  to  be  eight  weeks,  and  a  ma 
jority  in  Congress.  The  resolution  was  adopted  by  the 
lower  House,  and  the  American  Colonists  in  Texas-  were 
thus  received  into  the  family  of  nations  as  forming  an  Inde 
pendent  Republic. 


58  REVIEW    OP    THE   MEXICAN    WAR. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

NEW  CLAIMS  ADVANCED  AGAINST  MEXICO. 

IT  will  be  recollected  that  President  Jackson,  in  his  Mes 
sage  of  the  6th  February,  1837,  proposed  that  he  should 
be  authorized  to  make  reprisals  against  Mexico,  and  for 
that  purpose  to  employ  the  naval  force  of  the  nation,  pro 
vided  Mexico  did  not  come  "  to  an  amicable  adjustment 
of  the  matters  in  controversy  between  us,  upon  another 
demand  thereof  made  on  board  one  of  our  vessels  of 
War." 

Now,  "  the  matters  in  controversy  between  us"  were, 
in  fact,  no  other  than  the  eighteen  grievances  already  spe 
cified.  It  was  stipulated  by  the  existing  treaty  with 
Mexico,  that  neither  party  shall  "  order  or  authorize  any 
act  of  reprisal,  nor  declare  war  against  the  other  on  com 
plaints  of  grievances  or  damages,  until  the  said  party 
considering  itself  offended  shall  first  have  presented  to  the 
other  a  statement  of  such  injuries  or  damages,  verified  by 
competent  proof,  and  demand  justice  and  satisfaction,  and 
the  same  shall  have  been  either,  refused  or  unreasonably 
delayed."  Whatever  claims'^and  grievances  we  might 
have  against  Mexico,  they  were  not  "  matters  in  contro 
versy''  until  after  they  had  been  presented,  and  by  the 
express  terms  of  the  treaty  could  not  warrant  either  re 
prisals  or  war,  until  they  had  been  verified,  and  the  Mexi 
can  Government  had  either  refused  or  unreasonably  de 
layed  justice. 

Notwithstanding  this  treaty  stipulation,  the  President 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  59 

laid  before  Congress  a  schedule  of  grievances  amounting 
in  number  to  FORTY-SIX.*  Of  the  original  eighteen  claims, 
only  one  dated  as  far  back  as  1831,  in  the  new  schedule 
thirty-two  are  founded  on  acts  alleged  to  have  been  com 
mitted  prior  to  1832.  Having  given  the  reader  a  specifi- 
fication  of  each  of  the  original  claims,  we  will  not  now 
trespass  on  his  patience  by  noticing  in  detail  the  addi 
tional  ones  which  the  administration  now  found  it  con 
venient  to  disinter  from  the  oblivion  of  past  years,  and 
which  had  been  in  fact  buried  by  the  treaty  ratified  5th 
April,  1832,  which  proclaimed  the  friendship  existing 
between  the  two  Republics.  It  may  be  well,  however,  to 
give  a  few  samples  of  these  claims  to  show  the  deter 
mined  efforts  of  the  American  Government  to  quarrel 
with  Mexico. 

"Mexican  Company,  Baltimore,  1816;  amount  of 
claim  not  stated.  This  was  an  association  of  individuals 
that  furnished  General  Mina  with  the  means  of  undertak 
ing  his  invasion  of  Mexico,  which  amount  they  aver  has 
never  been  repaid  to  them." 

"  Mrs.  Young,  1817  ;  amount  of  claim  not  stated.  The 
claimant  is  the  widow  of  Col.  Guilford  Young,  who  was 
a  partner  of  Mina,  and  was  killed  while  fighting  in  1817. 
The  claim  is  understood  to  be  for  arrears  of  pay.'' 

These  claims  it  will  be  observed,  are  for  insurrectionary 
services  against  the  Spanish  Government,  seven  or  eight 
years  before  that  Government  was  succeeded  by  the 
Mexican  Republic. 

"John  B.  Marie,  1824;  amount  of  claim  not  stated. 
Goods  seized  upon  pretext  of  having  been  introduced  con 
trary  to  a  Mexican  law.  The  claimant  says  he  was  igno 
rant  of  the  law." 

"T.    E.   Dudley,   and  J.   C.   Wilson,    1824;    amount 

*  Ex.  Doc.,  24th  Cong.,  2d  Scss.,  vol.  3. 


60  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

claimed  not  stated.  The  claimants  robbed  of  a  part  of 
their  property  by  the  Camanche  Indians,  on  their  return 
from  a  trading  expedition  to  Mexico." 

The  proposition  to  employ  the  naval  force  of  the  Union 
in  making  reprisals  to  enforce  such  claims  was  deemed  too 
hazardous  to  be  wise.  It  would  necessarily  bring  on  a 
war  ;  and  a  war  waged  on  pretexts  so  scandalous,  might 
destroy  the  popularity  of  the  party,  and  augment  the 
anti-slavery  feeling  of  the  North.  It  was  evident  the 
nation  was  not  yet  prepared  to  incur  the  calamities  of  war 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  hastening  the  annexation  of  Texas  ; 
and  moreover,  such  a  war,  to  receive  the  concurrence  of 
the  North,  must  at  least  be  commenced  by  Mexico.  A 
course  was  therefore  adopted,  more  sagacious  than  that 
urged  by  the  fiery  impatience  of  the  President.  Com 
mittees  of  the  two  Houses  of  Congress,  made  reports  well 
calculated,  by  exaggerating  the  misconduct  of  Mexico,  to 
exasperate  the  ill-feeling  already  existing,  but  recom 
mending  that  one  more  demand  should  be  made  for  re 
paration. 

On  the  last  day  of  the  Session,  an  appropriation  was 
made  for  the  salary  of  a  Minister  to  Mexico,  "  whenever 
in  the  opinion  of  the  President  circumstances  will  permit 
a  renewal  of  diplomatic  intercourse  honorably  with  that 
Power."  It  was  only  in  the  preceding  December  that  the 
Diplomatic  intercourse  had  been  broken  off  by  instructions 
from  the  Presieent,  on  the  ground  that  it  could  not  honor 
ably  be  continued ;  and  yet,  on  the  30th  of  March,  with 
out  any  circumstance  having  occurred  in  the  interval  to 
invite  a  renewal  of  that  intercourse,  except  the  refusal  of 
Congress  to  go  to  war,  the  President  nominated  a  Minister 
to  Mexico  !  "  And  who,''  to  use  the  language  of  J.  Q. 
Adams,  "  was  this  Minister  of  peace,  to  be  sent  with  the 
Jast  drooping  twig  of  olive  to  be  replanted  and  revivified 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  61 

in  the  genial  soil  of  Mexico  ?  It  was  no  other  than  Pow- 
hattan  Ellis,  of  Mississippi,  famishing  for  Texas,  and  just 
returned  in  anger  and  resentment  from  an  abortive  and 
abruptly  terminated  mission  to  the  same  Government. 
His  very  name  must  have  tasted  like  wormwood  to  the 
Mexican  palate  ;  and  his  name  seems  alone  to  have  been 
used  for  the  purpose  of  giving  a  relish  to  these  last  re 
sources  of  pacific  and  conciliatory  councils.  But  though 
appointed,  he  was  not  permitted  to  proceed  upon  his  em 
bassy.  He  was  kept  at  home,  and  in  his  stead  was  des 
patched  a  courier  of  the  Department  of  State,  with  a 
budget  of  grievances  good  and  bad,  new  and  old,  stuffed 
with  wrongs  as  full  as  Falstaff 's  buck  basket  with  foul 
linen,  to  be  turned  over  under  the  nose  of  the  Mexican 
Secretary  of  State,  with  an  allowance  of  ONE  WEEK*  to 
examine,  search  out,  and  answer  concerning  them  all.'' 

In  politics  as  in  commerce,  the  supply  is  regulated  by 
the  demand.  The  Cabinet  were  in  urgent  want  of  claims 
upon  Mexico,  and,  as  it  was,  possible  money  might  be 
extorted  on  these  claims,  there  was,  of  course,  no  lack  of 
claimants. 

On  the  20th  July,  1836,  the  "accumulated  wrongs" 
for  which  Mr.  Forsyth  instructed  Ellis  to  demand  satisfac 
tion,  and,  if  not  received  in  a  limited  time,  to  ask  for  his 
passports,  amounted,  as  we  have  seen,  to  fifteen  in  number, 
but  as  two  had  been  already  settled,  in  fact  only  to  thir 
teen.  These,  by  the  zeal  and  industry  of  Ellis,  were 
increased  to  eighteen.  On  the  6th  February,  1837,  the 
accumulation  was  swelled  to  forty-six,  and  on  the  20th 
July,  1837,  the  anniversary  of  Mr.  Forsyth's  celebrated 
despatch  to  Ellis,  the  "  courier  of  the  department  of 

*  "  The  messenger  bearing  the  budget  was  instructed  to  remain 
in  the  city  of  Mexico  one  week."  Hep.  of  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  29th 
Cong.,  Vol.  4. 

6 


62  REVIEW    OF    THE   MEXICAN    WAR. 

State,"  appeared  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  bending  beneath 
a  load  of  FIFTY-SEVEN  wrongs,  for  which,  in  the  name  of 
the  American  Government,  he  demanded  "justice  and 
satisfaction." 

Of  these  complaints,  it  may  readily  be  imagined,  many 
were  in  the  highest  degree  most  insolent  and  ridiculous. 
Let  one  suffice: — In  1829,  Mexico  was  invaded  by  a 
Spanish  force,  and  a  printing  press  in  Tampico,  said  to 
have  been  American  property,  was  destroyed  by  the 
invaders.  Eight  years  after  the  occurrence,  Mexico  is 
for  the  first  time  informed  that  she  is  held  responsible  by 
the  Federal  Government,  for  an  act  committed  by  her 
enemies  in  time  of  war.  We  can  judge  of  the  effect  of 
such  a  claim  upon  the  Mexicans,  by  supposing  a  demand 
of  the  French  king  upon  the  American  Government,  for 
payment  of  injuries  received  by  one  of  his  subjects,  from 
the  British  troops  while  in  possession  of  the  city  of 
Washington. 

The  temporary  detention  of  two  citizens  at  Metamoras, 
and  the  pretended  abduction  of  two  mules  and  a  mare, 
although  so  abundantly  and  satisfactorily  explained,  again 
figure  among  the  national  grievances  for  which  the  "  cou 
rier"  demanded  satisfaction. 

That  our  Government  had  no  desire  whatever,  to  bring 
their  dispute  with  Mexico  to  an  amicable  termination,  is 
perfectly  obvious  from  the  extraordinary  course  it  pursued 
on  this  occasion.  Congress  decided  not  to  go  to  war,  but 
to  renew  negotiations,  and  furnished  money  for  the  salary 
of  a  minister.  A  minister  is  appointed  personally  odious 
to  the  Mexicans,  but  detained  at  home,  while  a  messenger  is 
sent  with  a  list  of  fifty-seven  grievances,  of  which  not 
more  than  eighteen  at  most  had  ever  before  been  brought 
to  the  notice  of  the  Mexican  Government.  This  messenger 
was  forbidden  to  remain  for  more  than  one  week.  No 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  63 

opportunity  was  afforded  to  Mexico  to  make  explanations, 
or  even  to  ascertain  what  reparation  would  be  satisfactory. 
She  had  no  minister  in  the  United  States.  The  American 
Minister,  appointed  in  obedience  to  the  wishes  of  Congress, 
was  not  dispatched  ;  and  hence,  admitting  our  claims  to 
have  been  just,  and  admitting  Mexico  to  be  willing  to 
allow  them,  the  very  measures  adopted  by  the  Cabinet 
precluded  all  adjustment  of  the  points  in  controversy. 
Our  demands  were  in  truth  intended  only  to  irritate,  and 
to  furnish  stronger  pretexts  than  had  yet  been  found  for 
reprisals  and  war. 

Before  this  "  buck  basket,"  with  its  fifty-seven  griev 
ances  reached  Mexico,  that  Government — which  knew  of 
no  other  than  the  eighteen  causes  of  complaint  against  it 
specified  by  Mr.  Ellis,  and  on  account  of  which  he  had 
terminated  his  mission — had  passed  an  Act  offering  to 
submit  to  the  award  of  a  friendly  power,  the  claims  of 
the  United  States.* 

*  Ex.  Doc.,  25th  Cong.,  2  Sess.  Vol.  8. 


64  REVIEW   OF    THE   MEXICAN   WAR. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

TREATY    OF    ANNEXATION    PROPOSED    AND    REJECTED. 

JUST  twelve  months  after  the  declaration  of  Texan  inde 
pendence,  that  independence  was  acknowledged  by  the 
United  States.  /A  minister  representing  the  Federal 
Government,  was  immediately  despatched  to  the  insurg 
ents,  and  one  in  return  was  received  from  them.  Mr. 
Hunt,  rrpontij— fin  Amrrirnn  Htinfin,  nnrl  nryw  "  Envoy 
Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the  Re 
public  of  Texas,"  appeared  among  his  old  friends  at 
Washington,  and  in  August,  1837,  proposed,  in  behalf  of 
the  yearling  Republic,  a  treaty  of  annexation,/  Mr.  Van 
Buren  had,  the  preceding  4th  of  March,  assumed  the 
reins  of  Government.  This  gentleman  had,  on  various 
occasions,  shown  so  much  anxiety  to  conciliate  the  South, 
as  to  be  stigmatized  by  his  opponents  as  "  the  Northern 
man  with  Southern  principles."  Mr.  Hunt  was  therefore 
warranted  in  believing,  that  he  would  have  no  personal 
objection  to  extending  the  slave  region  by  the  addition  of 
Texas.  But  very  sufficient  obstacles  existed  to  the  pro 
posed  treaty./  Such  a  treaty  would  necessarily  involve  a 
war  with  Mexico,  and  in  such  a  war  the  country  was  not 
yet  prepared  to  engage.  The  treaty  moreover,  could  not 
be  ratified,  because  it  was  well  ascertained,  that  more  than 
one-third  of  the  Senators  would  withhold  their  assent.  A 
fruitless  attempt  to  negotiate  such  a  treatvwould  be  a 
political  blunder  which  Mr.  Van  Burerovas  foo  sagacious  to 
commit — a  blunder  which  would  inevitably  destroy  the 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  65 

popularity  of  the  administration,  and  have  a  most  disastrous 
influence  on  the  ensuing  election.  The  Texan  proposition 
was  therefore  politely  declined  on  the  ground  that  annex 
ation  at  the  present  time  must  result  in  a  war  with  Mexico./ 
This  was  a  reason  which  could  give  no  offence  to  the 
South,  especially  as  there  were  good  grounds  for  hoping 
that  the  dextrous  management  of  our  claims  would  ere 
long  remove  the  only  alleged  obstacle  to  annexation.  The 
pear  was  not  yet  quite  ripe,  and  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  at 
the  time  ignorant  of  the  Mexican  offer,  which  was  des 
tined  to  postpone  its  maturity. 


66  REVIEW    OF    THE   MEXICAN    WAR. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

TREATY    OF   ARBITRATION ACTION   OF   THE    SLAVEHOLDERS. 

MEXICO,  anxious  to  preserve  peace  with  the  United  States, 
not  only  proposed  to  refer  the  claims  of  the  latter  to  arbi 
tration,  but  once  more  sent  a  Minister  to  Washington. 
This  gentleman  arrived  in  October,  and,  as  is  said,  from  a 
misapprehension  that  the  Mexican  proposition  had  already 
been  communicated  to  the  American  Government,  did 
not  officially  announce  it  till  the  22d  December,  1837. 
The  proposition  itself  was  a  sore  disappointment  to  the 
partisans  of  annexation.  It  tended  to  avert,  or  at  least  to 
postpone  war.  It  was  a  proposition  so  fair  and  honor 
able,  so  pacific,  and  so  directly  appealing  to  the  moral 
i  sense  of  the  community,  that  it  could  not  be  rejected, 
without  bringing  great  odium  upon  the  administration ; 
and  the  party  of  which  it  was  the  representative,  had  but 
little  popularity  to  spare.  Still  it  was  received  in  sullen 
silence,  and  no  other  notice  taken  of  it  at  the  time,  than  a 
formal  acknowledgment  of  its  receipt.*  No  less  than 
three  times  after  this  acknowledgment,  did  Mr.  Forsyth 
(Secretary  of  State),  press  upon  the  Mexican  Minister 
new  claims,  and  new  demands  without  deigning  even  a 
passing  allusion  to  the  very  important  proposal  he  had 
received.  Fow^wmtfis--€A&F&Ar-sad  this  Government 
had  yet  given  no  intimation  of  its  willingness  to  adopt  an 
equitable  and  pacific  mode  of  obtaining  redress  for  "the 
accumulated  wrongs  "  under  which  it  professed  to  be  suf- 

*  See  Ex.  Doc.  25th  Cong.,  2  Sess.,  Vol.  12. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN   WAR.  67 

faring.  In  the  meantime,  the  Mexican  offer  had  become 
public,  and  petitions  had  been  presented  to  Congress 
praying  its  acceptance  ;*  and  at  least  forty  thousand  citi 
zens  had  laid  before  that  body  their  remonstrances  against 
annexation.  AUength  on  the  21st  April.  1838.  Mr.  For- 
syth  informed  the  Mexican  Minister,  that  the  President 
"  is  too  anxious  to  avoid  proceeding  to  extremities,"  not 
to  accept  the  offer  !  Negotiations  were  sew  commenced. 
at  Washington,  which  resulted,  on  the  10th  of  September, 
1838,  in  a  convention  between  the  two  GovernmentSjJjy 
which  it  was  agreed,  that  all  the  claims  against  Mexico 
should  be  referred  to  a  board  of  four  Commissioners^jtwo 
to  be  appointed  by  each  party.  The  board  to  meet  in 
Washington  three  months  after  the  exchange  of  ratifica 
tions,  and  to  sit  not  more  than  eighteen  months.  The 
award  of  the  Commissioners  to  be  final,  but  the  cases  on 
which  they  could  not  agree  were  to  be  decided  by  an 
umpire  to  be  named  by  the  King  of  Prussia.  Should.,  the 
Mexican  Government  not  find  it  convenient  to  pay  the 
amount  awarded  in  cash,  the  payment  was  to  be  made  in 
-«e  much  government  stock  as  would,  at  tho  market  price 
in-London,  he  equal  to  the  awani.  The  Mexican  ratifica 
tion  of  this  Convention  not  having  been  exchanged  within 
the  time  limited,  it  was  renewed  with  slight  modifications 
"L.184(Jj  the  most  important  of  which  was,  that  the  sum 
awarded  was  to  be  paid,  one  half  in  cash,  and  the  other 
in  Treasury  notes  bearing  eight  per  cent,  interest,  and  re- 
ceiveable  for  Mexican  duties. 

The  determination  of  the  Executive  to  refer  the  Mexi 
can  claims  to  arbitration,  and  the  delay  necessarily  caused 
by  such  a  reference,  seemed  to  excite  the  slaveholders  to 
increased  energy  in  forwarding  their  favorite  object.  Mis7 
sissippi  had  already,  by  its  Legislature,  demanded  the  anj 

*  See  Ex.  Doc.  25th  Cong.,  2  Sess.,  Vol.  12. 


68  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

nexation  of  Texas,  avowedly  for  the  benefit  of  the  slave- 
holding  interest.  The  State  of  Alabama  now  did  the 
same.  The  Legislature  of  j  Tennessee  joined  in  the  de 
mand,  but  refrained  from  the  indecency  of  resting  it  on 
the  extension  of  human  bondage.  Three  days  after  the 
acceptance  of  the  Mexican  offer,  Mr.  Preston,  a  senator 
from  South  )  Carolina,  introduced  a  resolution,  declaring 
the  expediency  of  annexing  Texas  to  the  Union.  On  the 
14th  June,  1838,  Mr.  Thompson  of  the  same  State  pro 
posed  a  joint  resolution  in  the  Lower  House,  directing  the 
President  to  take  proper  steps  for  the  annexation  of  Texas, j 
"  as  soon  as  it  can  be  done  consistently  with  the  treaty 
stipulations  of  this  Government." 

At  the  South  there  was  little  or  no  difference  between 
the  two  political  parties  on  the  question  of  annexation. 
As  a  specimen  of  the  recklessness  and  profligacy  with 
which  the  measure  was  then  urged,  we  may  quote  the 
following  language  held  by  a  prominent  whig  journal, 
"We  have  heretofore  asserted,  and  we  repeat  it  again, 
that  Texas  should  be  made  a  component  part  of  our 
country  at  all  hazards,  peaceably  if  she  was  willing,  and 
forcibly,  if  she  was  reluctant."* 

The  North,  however,  was  not  silent.  The  whig  party 
were  nearly  united  in  their  opposition  to  Texas,  and  they 
were  in  many  instances  joined  by  portions  of  their  political 
opponents.  The  States  of  Vermont,  Maine,  Massachu 
setts,  Connecticut.  Rhode  Island,  New  York,  and  Penn 
sylvania,  all  protested,  through  their  Legislatures,  against 
annexation.  It  is  not,  therefore,  surprising  that  Mr.  Van 
Buren  departed  from  the  policy  of  General  Jackson  in  re 
ferring  the  claims  of  Mexico  to  arbitration  instead  of  the 
sword. 

*  Frankfort  (Ky.)  Commonwealth,  May  2d,  1838. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  69 


CHAPTER   X. 

RESULTS    OF    THE    TREATY    OF    ARBITRATION. 

rlT  is  not  to  be  inferred,  from  what  has  been  heretofore 
said  of  the  claims  upon  Mexico,  that  none  of  them  were 
founded  hi  justice.  Unquestionably  some  of  the  most  le 
gitimate  were  nevertheless  of  a  character  which,  according 
to  the  laws  and  usages  of  nations,  were  not  fit  subjects  of 
national  controversy,  such  for  instance  as  were  founded 
on  contracts  or  on  torts  within  the  cognizance  of  the  ordi 
nary  tribunals  of  the  country.  /Nor  is  it  surprising  that, 
during  the  many  military  revolutions  by  which  Mexico 
had  for  years  been  convulsed,  subordinate  officers  should 
occasionally  have  exceeded  their  powers,  and  for  military 
purposes  have  trespassed  on  the  neutral  rights  of  Ameri 
can  residents.  /  The  admiralty  courts  of  Mexico,  had  con 
demned  American  vessels,  taken  with  arms  and  munitions 
of  war  intended  for  Texas.  These  articles  of  contraband 
were  by  treaty  liable  to  forfeiture  )  but  the  vessels  them 
selves,  together  with  such  parts  of  the  cargo  as  were  not 
contraband,  were  by  treaty  exempted  from  condemnation. 
Had  the  intentions  of  the  American  Government  been 
equitable,  and  their  measures  temperate,  there  is  no  rea 
son  to  believe  that  any  serious  difficulty  would  have  bee«- 
experieeceji-in-  Wfoyprirur  compensatiojL-jykcrc  it  was- 


The  Board  of  Commissioners  appointed  under  the 
Treaty  commenced  their  session  in  Washington,  17th 
August,  1840  ;  and  by  26th  May,  the  next  year,  a  period 


70  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

of  about  nine  months,  they  had  passed  upon  every  claim 
that  had  been  presented  to  them,  accompanied  with  the 
necessary  vouchers,  a  fact  deriving  great  importance  from 
subsequent  events.  In  February,  1842,  the  Commission 
was  dissolved  by  the  limitation  prescribed  in  the  Treaty, 
having  sat  eighteen  months.  The  King  of  Prussia  had 
named  his  Minister  at  Washington,  Baron  Roenne,  as 
umpire. 

Total  amount  of  Claims  presented,     -     -     -     $11,850,578 
Of  these  submitted  too  late  to  be  examined,         3,336,837 

8,513,741 
Referred  to  Umpire,  and  undecided  by  him 

for  want  of  time, 928,627 


Amount  of  Claims  adjudicated,     ....        7,595,114 
Rejected  by  Commissioners  and  Umpire,     -        5,568,975 

Allowed  do.  do.  $2,026,236 

This  statement  invites  various  remarks.  The  Federal 
Government  had  been  for  years  espousing  the  cause  of 
the  Mexican  claimants.  Session  after  session  had  the 
Executive  Messages  brought  before  Congress,  not  the 
particulars  but  the  subject  of  Mexican  outrages.  Com 
mittees  had  reiterated  the  lamentations  of  the  President 
over  our  accumulated  wrongs.  A  minister  had  been  with 
drawn  from  Mexico,  because  redress  had  been  withheld  ; 
and  war  had  virtually  been  recommended  by  General 
Jackson  to  obtain,  by  force  of  arms,  that  justice  for  our 
citizens  which  Mexico  denied  them.  Finally,  a  solemn 
Treaty  proposed  to  afford  the  long-desired  but  denied  re 
paration.  A  Court,  composed  of  two  American  and  two 
Mexican  citizens,  Avere  to  sit  in  judgment  on  these  claims ; 
and,  where  the  Court  could  not  agree,  an  impartial  um 
pire  was  to  award  the  amount  justly  due.  The  Court 
commenced  its  session  about  two  years  after  its  first  ap 
pointment.  Surely  the  claimants  had  abundant  notice  to 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  71 

prepare  and  present  their  claims ;  and  they  had  also 
timely  notice  that  the  term  of  the  Court  was  limited  to 
eighteen  months.  For  the  convenience  of  the  claimants, 
the  Court  assembled  in  Washington,  contrary  to  the 
•wishes  and  remonstrances  of  the  Mexican  Government. 
Under  such  circumstances,  it  is  not  surprising  that,  after 
the  Court  had  been  in  session  nine  months,  only  one-half 
of  the  time  to  which  it  was  limited,  it  had  disposed  of 
every  case  that  had  been  presented  with  proper  vouchers. 
But  at  the  termination  of  the  next  nine  months,  we  find 
claims  to  the  amount  of  $3,336,837,  that  were  presented 
too  late  to  be  even  examined  !  The  magnitude  of  these 
claims,  and  the  astonishing  delay  in  presenting  them,  after 
the  unwearied  solicitude  of  the  Government  to  swell  the 
demand  against  Mexico,  clearly  indicate  their  fraudulent 
and  speculative  character.  We  find,  moreover,  that  of 
those  claims  which  were  passed  upon,  about  THREE- 
FOURTHS  OF  THE  AMOUNT  CLAIMED  WAS  REJECTED  3S  not 

due.  Unquestionably  the  strongest  claims  were  first 
brought  forward  ;  and  if  these  were  three-fourths  spuri 
ous,  we  may  judge  of  the  character  of  those  introduced 
at  the  close  of  the  session.  We  have  seen  the  eagerness 
with  which  the  Government  welcomed  and  pressed  every, 
claim,  however  stale  and  absurd.  It  is  obvious  that  the 
Court  of  Claims,  if  we  may  so  name  it,  was  a  lottery  in 
which  magnificent  prizes  might  be  drawn,  and  in  which 
the  tickets  cost  nothing.  Every  man  who  had  been  inj 
Mexico  for  the  last  twenty  years,  and  could  manufacture 
a  wrong,  was  virtually  invited  to  come  forward  and  try) 
his  luck.  There  is  also  strong  reason  to  believe,  that, 
when  at  the  end  of  the  first  nine  months,  all  the  cases 
ready  had  been  heard,  it  was  found  that  the  result  would 
be  so  insignificant  as  to  cast  contempt  and  ridicule  upon 
the  Cabinet ;  and  that,  therefore,  great  efforts  were  made 


72  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

to  induce  reckless  speculators  and  adventurers  to  come 
forward  with  claims  which  would  at  least  swell  the  un 
liquidated  demand,  and  furnish  ground  for  continued  and 
irritating  complaint.  But  supposing  the  unsettled  claims 
to  have  been  not  less  worthless  than  those  which  were 
adjudicated,  then  one  million  more  would  have  been  add 
ed  to  the  award,  making  a  debt  due  by  Mexico  of  three 
instead  of  the  eleven  millions  claimed. 

Congress  lately  passed  a  bill  for  paying  to  American 
claimants  five  millions,  due  from  the  French  Government, 
but  which  ours  did  not  choose  to  go  to  war  to  collect.  It 
was  only  of  feeble  Mexico,  with  her  unprotected  territory, 
that  the  Federal  Cabinet  was  ready  to  collect  debts  at  the 
mouth  of  the  cannon. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  give  some  specimens  of  the 
shameless  profligacy  of  many  of  these  claims,  which  poli 
ticians,  for  selfish  purposes,  have  found  it  convenient  to 
magnify  into  grievous  wrongs. 

A.  0.  de  Santangelo  was  a  schoolmaster  and  printer  in 
Mexico.  In  one  of  the  revolutionary  struggles,  he  was 
obliged  to  flee,  abandoning  his  school  and  press.  He 
came  to  New  Orleans,  and  thence  to  New  York,  where 
he  became  a  naturalized  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
and  in  that  capacity  brought  in  a  bill  of  $398,690  against 
the  Mexican  Government  for  damages !  The  Mexican 
Commissioners  denied  that  anything  was  due  ;  the  Ame 
rican  Commissioners  allowed  him  $83,440 — which  the 
Umpire  cut  down  to  $50,000,  one-eighth  of  the  demand. 
On  what  principle  this  eighth  was  allowed,  it  is  difficult 
to  imagine. 

Rhoda  McCrae  claimed  $6,694.04  for  a  pension  for 
her  son  killed  in  the  Mexican  service.  The  American 
Commissioners  to  their  shame  allowed  the  claim,  and  the 
Umpire  to  his  credit  rejected  it. 


REVIEW   OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  73 

Sophia  M.  Robinson  claimed,  for  services  rendered  by 
ber  husband  in  Mexico — then  a  province  of  Spain — in 
1817,  (!)  $16,000,  and  as  much  more  for  interest.  The 
American  Commissioners  allowed  her  $32,000  !  The 
Umpire  most  righteously  refused  her  a  cent. 

John  Baldwin  claimed  for  a  trunk  of  wearing  apparel, 
seized  by  a  Mexican  custom-house  officer,  $1170.  Inter 
est  $311.50  :  $1481.50.  All  allowed  by  American  Com 
missioners.  Undecided  by  Umpire.* 

Mr.  Pendleton,  of  Virginia,  in  a  very  able  speech  in 
Congress,  22nd  February,  1847,  on  these  claims,  thus 
comments  on  one  of  them  :  "  There  is  one  particular  item 
—  a  beauty  of  its  kind — which  I  will  mention.  The  item 
is  for  fifty-six  dozen  bottles  of  porter.  I  believe  the  best 
London  porter  can  be  purchased  in  any  part  of  the  world 
for  something  like  three  dollars  a-dozen ;  and  I  estimate 
this  porter,  therefore,  very  liberally,  when  I  put  it  down  at 
two  hundred  dollars.  What  do  you  suppose  is  charged 
for  it  in  this  account  ?  Why,  sixteen  hundred  and  ninety 
dollars  !  But  that  is  reasonable,  compared  with  the  in 
terest  charged  upon  the  price.  That  is  for  less  than  six 
years  set  down  at  $6,570  ;  making  for  fifty-six  dozen 
bottles  of  porter  the  nice  little  sum  of  $8,260  !  I  do  not 
say  that  all  these  accounts  are  of  that  sort ;  but  this  I 
will  say,  that  many  of  them  are  more  unreasonable."  f 
One  of  the  claims  left  undecided  was  preferred  by  a 
Texan  land  company  for  the  comfortable  sum  of  $2,154, 
604  ;  and  one  individual  claims  $690,000  for  erroneous 
decisions  against  him  in  Mexican  courts !  It  is  creditable 
to  the  justice  and  moderation  of  Mexico,  that,  when  such 
unscrupulous  audacity  was  countenanced  by  our  Govern 
ment,  the  demands  manufactured  against  her  reached  to 
no  more  than  eleven  millions  of  dollars. 

*  Ex.  Doc.,  27th  Cong.,  2nd  Sess.     No.  21. 
f   App.  Cong.  Globe. 


74  REVIEW   OF    THE   MEXICAN    WAR. 


CHAPTER    XL 

NEW    TREATIES    WITH    MEXICO    ABOUT    CLAIMS. 

THE  Treaty  of  Arbitration  had  deprived  the  Administra 
tion  for  some  time  of  all  pretexts  of  complaint  against 
Mexico,  and  probably  postponed  the  annexation  of  Texas. 
Fortunately  for  the  designs  of  the  Cabinet,  the  accumula 
tion  of  claims  towards  the  close  of  the  Commission  had, 
as  we  have  seen,  left  a  large  nominal  amount  undecided. 
Of  this  surplus,  the  Administration  eagerly  availed  itself 
to  renew  a  harassing  negotiation.  No  Minister  had  been 
sent  to  Mexico  since  Mr.  Ellis  thought  it  expedient  to  de 
mand  his  passports,  and  to  decline  specifying  the  reasons 
of  so  ungracious  a  measure.  The  Commission  under  the 
Treaty  terminated,  as  we  have  seen,  in  February,  1842  ; 
and  the  next  March,  Mr.  Tyler,  who  as  Vice-President 
had  succeeded  to  the  Executive  Chair  on  the  death  of 
President  .Harrison,  appointed  Mr.  Waddy  Thompson,  of 
South  Carolina,  Minister  to  Mexico.  In  selecting  this 
gentleman,  he  was  no  doubt  influenced  by  the  same  mo 
tives  which  had  led  to  the  appointment  of  Messrs.  Pom- 
sett,  Butler,  and  Ellis.  He  was  a  slaveholder,  devoted  to 
the  cause  of  Texas.  He  had,  moreover,  on  the  floor  of 
Congress,  introduced  a  resolution  directing  the  President 
to  take  measures  for  the  annexation  of  Texas,  as  soon  as 
it  could  be  done,  consistently  with  the  Treaty  stipulations 
of  the  Government — an  act  which  necessarily  rendered 
him  personally  offensive  to  the  Mexican  Government. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  by  the  treaty  of  arbitration 
the  award  was  to  be  paid  half  in  cash,  and  half  in  treas- 


REVIEW    OF    THE   MEXICAN    WAR.  75 

ury  notes  at  par,  bearing  eight  per  cent,  interest,  and 
receivable  for  duties.  Mr.  Thompson  found  the  Mexican 
credit  very  low,  and  treasury  notes  at  a  discount  of  about 
seventy  per  cent.  His  diplomatic  correspondence  has 
been  published  only  in  part,  and  we  are  therefore  ignorant 
by  what  means  he  succeeded  in  negotiating,  30th  January, 
1843,  a  new  convention  or  treaty  by  which  Mexico  agreed 
to  pay  on  the  30th  April  of  the  same  year,  all  the  interest 
then  due,  and  the  award  itself  in  five  years,  in  equal 
quarterly  instalments.  This  arrangement  has  been  repre 
sented  as  a  boon  granted  to  Mexico,*  and  therefore  aggra 
vating  her  ingratitude.  The  assertion,  like  most  others 
made  in  vindication  or  apology  of  the  Mexican  war,  is 
untrue.  Says  Mr.  Calhoun,  Secretary  of  State,  writing 
to  Mr.  Shannon,  minister  in  Mexico,  June  20th,  1844 — 
"The  convention  (of  1839),  provided  that  the  claims 
which  should  be  allowed,  might  be  discharged  by  payment 
of  Mexican  treasury  notes,  but  as  these  were  much  de 
preciated  in  value,  it  became  a  matter  of  importance  to  effect 
some  other  arrangement  by  which  specie  should  be  substi 
tuted  in  their  stead.  To  this  end  your  predecessor 
(Thompson),  was  empowered  and  instructed  to  enter  into 
a  negotiation  with  the  Government  of  Mexico,  and  a 
convention  was  concluded,  30th  January,  1843."  Mr. 
Thompson,  in  his  **  Recollections  of  Mexico,"  speaking 
of  this  convention,  says,  p.  223,  "  the  market  value  of  the 
treasury  notes  was  about  thirty  cents  on  a  dollar,  and,  if 
this  additional  two  millions  had  been  thrown  upon  the 
market,  they  would  have  been  depreciated  still  more. 
The  owners  of  these  claims  knew  this,  and  were  anxious 
to  make  some  other  arrangement."  Hence  the  "  boon" 

*  Report  of  C    J.  Ingersol,  dxairman  of  Com.  of  Foreign 
AJairs,  June  24th,  1846. 


76  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

was  extorted  from  Mexico,  and  probably  through  the 
menaces  of  the  negotiator. 

But  the  new  convention  did  more  than  regulate  the 
payment  of  the  award.  It  stipulated  for  the  negotiation 
of  another  arbitration  treaty,  and  one  more  comprehensive 
than  the  last,  for  it  was  to  provide  for  the  settlement  of 
all  claims  made  by  the  Government  of  Mexico  against  the 
United  States,  as  well  as  the  claims  of  the  Government 
and  citizens  of  the  United  States  against  the  Republic  of 
Mexico.  Here  was  at  least  the  appearance  of  fairness. 
The  United  States  consented  by  this  treaty,  which  was 
duly  ratified,  that  the  wrongs  the  Government  and  it  citi 
zens  had  done  to  Mexico  should  be  submitted  to  a  court 
of  referees.  What  claims  the  citizens  of  Mexico  had 
against  the  United  States  do  not  appear ;  but  the  claims 
of  the  Government  were  numerous  and  important. 

Vessels  captured  by  Mexican  ships  of  war  for  being  en 
gaged  in  contraband  trade,  had  been  forcibly  seized  and 
carried  off  by  American  armed  vessels,  and  a  Mexican  na 
tional  vessel  had  been  audaciously  captured  and  brought 
to  the  United  States  by  one  of  the  vessels  of  our  navy  ;  and 
frequent  had  been  the  insults  which  American  functionaries 
had  offered  to  the  Mexican  authorities.  It  must,  therefore, 
have  been  a  grateful  reflection  to  the  Mexicans,  that  the 
wrongs  they  had  themselves  suffered,  were  to  be  examined 
and  redressed  by  a  tribunal  more  impartial  than  the  Cabi 
net  at  Washington.  Whether  it  was  through  inadvertence, 
or  with  a  view  of  inducing  Mexico  to  provide  for  the  settle 
ment  of  the  vast  amount  of  claims  left  undecided  that  the 
American  Government  accorded  this  unusual  justice  to  the 
sister  Republic,  is  uncertain.  The  treaty  stipulated  for  by 
the  convention  of  30th  January,  1843,  was  concluded  in 
Mexico  on  the  20th  November  of  the  same  year.  The 
respective  claims  of  the  citizens  and  Governments  of  the 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  77 

two  countries  were  to  be  referred  to  a  joint  commission  to 
sit  in  Mexico ;  and  where  the  commissioners  should  not 
agree,  the  award  of  an  umpire,  to  be  named  by  the  king 
of  Belgium,  was  to  be  final.  This  treaty  was  sent  to 
Washington,  accompanied  by  a  letter  from  Thompson  to 
the  Secretary  of  State,  in  which  he  tells  him  "  the  place 
of  meeting  of  the  board,  you  will  see,  is  in  Mexico,  and 
not  in  Washington.  The  Mexican  plenipotentiaries  said 
that  the  last  commission  met  in  Washington,  and  that  it 
was  their  right  to  insist  that  this  one  should  meet  in 
Mexico.  The  only  reply  that  I  could  make  was,  that  the 
claims  presented  to  that  commission  were  all  against 
Mexico,  and  that  nearly  all  the  claimants  resided  in  the 
United  States  ;  to  which  they  replied  that  this  commission 
will  also  be  charged  with  the  claims  of  the  Government 
and  citizens  of  Mexico  against  the  United  States,  and  that 
they  could  not  concede  this  point.  I  thought  there  was 
much  reason  in  their  demand  ;  and,  as  it  was  matter 
of  punctilio,  and  as  with  a  Spaniard  punctilio  is  everything, 
I  was  well  satisfied  it  would  be  a  sine  qua  non,  and  there 
fore  yielded  it,  in  consideration  of  their  allowing  me  to 
name  the  arbiter — a  much  more  important  consideration." 
The  mere  details  of  this  treaty  were  of  course  matters 
of  discretion  to  wJiich  the  Government  at  Washington  had 
the  strict  right  of  objecting.  But  the  United  States 
had,  by  a  solemn  convention  duly  ratified,  agreed  that 
the  complaints  of  the  Government  and  citizens  of  Mexico 
should  be  referred  by  treaty  to  a  tribunal  for  settlement ; 
to  refuse  therefore  to  consent  to  such  a  reference,  was  a 
breach  of  faith  plighted  by  treaty.  Yet  of  such  a  breach 
was  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  guilty.  The  treaty 
was  conditionally  ratified  by  the  Senate,  first  striking  out 
of  it  the  right  of  each  Government  to  prefer  before  the 
commission  claims  against  the  other ;  and  secondly,  alter- 


78  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

ing  the  place  of  meeting  to  Washington.*  There  was  no 
dispute  about  the  treaty  of  30th  January,  1843.  Mr. 
Upshur,  Secretary  of  State,  in  his  correspondence  with 
Thompson,  acknowledged  and  regretted  the  obligation  it 
imposed,  of  referring  to  a  tribunal  wholly  judicial  in  its 
character  a  subject  "  strictly  diplomatic."  Yet,  in  defi 
ance  of  a  plain  treaty  stipulation,  the  Senate  refused  to 
refer  the  claims  of  the  Mexican  Government  to  the 
decision  of  the  commissioners  and  umpire.  The  place  of 
meeting  was  changed  by  the  Senate  to  Washington, 
although  the  Government  had  been  warned  by  its  own 
agent,  that  the  sitting  of  the  commission  in  Mexico  was  a 
sine  qua  non,  and  a  point  of  national  pride.  The  treaty 
thus  mutilated,  and  conditionally  ratified,  was  sent  back  to 
Mexico,  where  no  farther  notice  of  it  was  taken.  Hence 
arose  the  cry  from  the  partisans  of  Texas,  that  Mexico 
refused  to  settle  the  claims  advanced  by  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States.  President  Polk  in  his  labored  vindication 
of  the  war  against  Mexico,  contained  in  his  message 
of  December,  1846,  had  the  temerity  to  charge  Mexico 
with  "  violating  the  faith  of  treaties,  by  failing  or  refusing 
to  carry  into  effect  the  sixth  article  of  the  convention  of 
January,  1843"  ! ! 

*  Report  of  Com.  on  Foreign  Affairs,  June  24th,  1846. 


REVIEW    OF    THE   MEXICAN   WAR.  79 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE    SEIZURE    AND    SURRENDER    OF    MONTEREY,  IN  CALIFOR 
NIA,    BY    COMMODORE    JONES. 

ON  Mr.  Thompson's  appointment,  an  attempt  was  made 
in  the  House  of  Representatives,  to  defeat  his  mission  by  a 
motion  to  strike  out  from  the  supply  bill  the  appropriation 
for  a  salary  to  the  Minister  to  Mexico.  In  opposing  this 
motion,  Mr.  Wise,  of  Virginia,  the  administration  leader 
in  the  House  delivered,  14th  April,  1842,  a  characteristic 
speech,  of  which  the  following  is  an  extract : 

"  Texas  had  but  a  sparse  population,  and  neither  men 
nor  money  of  her  own  to  raise  and  equip  an  army  for  her 
own  defence ;  but  let  her  once  raise  the  flag  of  foreign 
conquest — let  her  once  proclaim  a  crusade  against  the 
rich  states  to  the  South  of  her,  and  in  a  moment  volun 
teers  would  flock  to  her  standard  in  crowds  from  all  the 
States  in  the  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi — men  of  en 
terprise  and  hardy  valor  before  whom  no  Mexican  troops 
could  stand  an  hour.  They  would  leave  their  own  towns, 
arm  themselves  and  travel  at  their  own  cost,  and  would 
come  up  in  thousands  to  plant  the  lone  star  of  the  Texan 
banner  on  the  Mexican  capital.  They  would  drive  Santa 
Anna  to  the  South,  and  the  boundless  wealth  of  cap 
tured  towns,  and  rifled  churches,  and  a  lazy,  vicious,  and 
luxurious  priesthood,  would  soon  enable  Texas  to  pay  her 
soldiers,  and  redeem  her  State  debt,  and  push  her  victo 
rious  arms  to  the  very  shores  of  the  Pacific. 

"And  would  not  all  this  extend  slavery?     Yes,  the 


80  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

result  would  be,  that,  before  another  quarter  of  a  century, 
the  extension  of  slavery  would  not  stop  short  of  the 
Western  Ocean. 

"  To  talk  of  restraining  the  people  of  the  great  valley 
from  emigrating  to  join  her  armies,  was  all  in  vain.  They 
had  gone  once  already.  //  was  they  that  conquered  Santa 
Anna  at  San  Jacinto  ;  and  three -fourths  of  them  after 
winning  that  glorious  field,  had  peaceably  returned  to  their 
homes.  But  once  set  before  them  the  conquest  of  the 
rich  Mexican  provinces,  and  you  might  as  well  attempt  to 
stop  the  wind.  Let  the  work  once  begin,  and  he  (Mr. 
Wise)  did  not  know  that  this  House  would  hold  him  very 
long. 

"  Give  me  five  millions  of  dollars,  and  I  would  under 
take  to  do  it  myself.  Although  I  don't  know  how  to  set  a 
single  squadron  in  the  field,  I  could  find  men  to  do  it ;  and, 
with  five  millions  of  dollars  to  begin  with,  I  would  under 
take  to  pay  every  American  claimant  the  full  amount  of 
his  demand  with  interest,  yea,  fourfold.  /  would  place 
California  where  all  the  powers  of  Great  Britain,  would 
never  be  able  to  reach  it.  SLAVERY  SHOULD  POUR  ITSELF 

ABROAD    WITHOUT    RESTRAINT,   AND  FIND   NO  LIMIT    BUT    THE 

SOUTHERN  OCEAN.  The  Camanches  should  no  longer  hold 
the  richest  mines  of  Mexico  ;  but  every  golden  imao;c  which 
had  received  the  profanation  of  a  false  worship  should  soon 
be  melted  clown,  not  into  Spanish  milled  dollars  indeed,  but 
into  good  American  eagles.  Yes,  there  should  more  hard 
money  flow  into  the  United  States  than  any  exchequer 
or  sub-treasury  could  ever  circulate.  I  would  cause  as 
much  gold  to  cross  the  Rio  del  Norte  as  the  mules  of 
Mexico  could  carry ;  aye,  and  make  a  better  use  of  it 
than  any  la?,y,  bigoted  priesthood  under  Heaven.  I  am 
not  quarrelling  with  the  particular  religion  of  these  priests  ; 
but  I  say,  that  nny  priesthood  that  has  accumulated  and 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  81 

sequestered  such  immense  stores  of  wealth,  ought  to  dis 
gorge,  and,  it  is  a  benefit  to  mankind,  to  scatter  their 
wealth  abroad  where  it  can  do  good.  Texas  had  pro 
claimed  a  blockade  against  all  the  coast  of  Mexico ;  and 
though  she  had  no  fleet  to  enforce  it,  she  would  be  able 
to  make  it  good  by  hewing  her.  way  to  the  Mexican 
capital.  Nor  could  all  the  vaunted  power  of  England 
stop  the  chivalry  of  the  West,  till  they  had  planted  the 
Texan  star  on  the  walls  of  the  city  of  Montezuma.  No 
thing  could  keep  these  booted  loafers  from  rushing  on  till 
they  kicked  the  Spanish  priests  out  of  the  temples  they 
profaned.  War  was  a  curse  ;  but  it  had  its  blessings  too. 
He  would  vote  for  this  mission  as  the  means  of  preserving 
peace ;  but,  if  it  must  lead  to  war,  he  would  vote  it  the 
more  willingly." 

The  author  of  such  a  speech  was,  of  course,  admirably 
fitted  for  the  Mexican  mission  ;  but,  as  that  was  already 
filled,  the  President  (Tyler)  expressed  his  obligation  to 
the  Orator,  by  appointing  him  Minister  to  France.  A 
Whig  Senate  recoiled  at  the  idea  of  sending  Mr.  Wise  to 
represent  American  morality  and  refinement  in  Europe, 
but  consented  that  he  should  discharge  that  function  in 
Brazil.  Amid  the  vulgarity  and  profligacy  of  this  speech, 
there  is  much  that  merits  attention  as  indicative  of  the 
views  and  anticipations  of  the  slaveholders.  We  see 
what  visions  of  plunder  the  idea  of  a  war  with  Mexico 
raised  before  their  excited  imaginations ;  we  see  what 
boundless  regions  were  in  their  hopes  to  be  consecrated  to 
human  bondage,  and  with  how  little  cost  and  danger,  the 
chivalry  expected  to  gather  a  golden  harvest  from  both 
mines  and  churches.  Mr.  Wise  was  chairman  of  the  na 
val  committee,  and  high  in  the  confidence  of  the  adminis 
tration  ;  and  hence  his  reference  to  California  was  pecu 
liarly  significant,  and  shado>Yecl  forth  coming  events.  The 


82  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

annexation  of  Texas  was  the  immediate  object  of  the 
slaveholders  ;  but  California  was  looming  in  the  distance, 
and  many  wistful  eyes  were  gazing  upon  it,  as  the  means 
of  carrying  slavery  to  the  "  Western  Ocean." 

Mr.  Upshur,  the  Virginian  who  in  1829  wanted  Texas 
to  raise  the  price  of  slaves,  and  now  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  in  his  report  of  December  4th,  1841,  announced  to 
Congress,  that  "  In  Upper  California  there  were  already 
considerable  settlements  of  Americans,  and  others  are 
daily  resorting  to  that  fertile  and  delightful  country.  Such, 
however,  is  the  unsettled  condition  of  that  whole  country, 
that  they  cannot  be  safe  either  in  their  persons  or  property, 
except  under  the  protection  of  OUT  naval  power,"  He  also 
declared  that,  "  It  is  highly  desirable  that  the  Gulf  of 
California  should  be  fully  explored,  and  that  this  duty 
alone  will  give  employment  a  long  time  to  one  or  two 
vessels  of  the  smaller  class."  Here  was  a  beautiful  device 
for  forcing  Mexico  into  a  war  and  wresting  California 
from  her.  Our  ships  of  war  were  to  be  continually  hover 
ing  on  the  coast,  and  their  officers  surveying  the  harbors 
and  interfering  in  every  controversy  between  the  Mexican 
authorities  and  American  squatters  and  adventurers. 

A  few  days  after  this  report,  Commodore  Jones,  also  a 
Virginian,  was  dispatched  with  a  squadron  to  the  Pacific. 
He  was  specially  instructed  to  keep  one  or  more  vessels 
occasionally  or  constantly  cruising  upon  the  coast,  and 
within  the  GULF  OF  CALIFORNIA,  and  the  officers  were  "to 
pay  particular  attention  to  the  examination  of  the  bays 
and  harbors  they  may  visit,  and  to  lay  down  their  positions 
correctly."  The  subsequent  conquest  of  California  bears 
testimony  to  the  foresight  of  Messrs.  Tyler  and  Upshur. 
It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Commodore  Jones  was  per 
mitted  to  depart  without  being  acquainted  with  the  wishes 
and  hopes  of  his  employers.  He  undoubtedly  well  under- 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  83 

stood,  although  not  formally  instructed,  that  he  was  to 
avail  himself  of  any  good  opportunity  of  getting  a  foot 
hold  in  California. 

In  May,  1842,  the  Mexican  Secretary  of  State  sent  a 
circular  to  the  diplomatic  corps,  declaring  that  the  Mexi 
can  Government  protested  against  the  aid  afforded  to  the 
Texans  by  citizens  of  the  United  States  with  the  toleration 
of  their  own  Government.  At  the  same  time  the  Secre 
tary  addressed  a  letter  to  Mr.  Webster,  American  Secre 
tary  of  State,  formally  protesting  against  the  allowance 
by  the  Federal  Government  of  the  violation,  on  the  part 
of  its  citizens,  of  the  obligations  of  neutrality  in  the  open 
aid  afforded  to  the  insurgents  of  Texas.  These  two  let 
ters  were^fublished  in  a  Mexican  journal,  and  fell  into  the 
hands  of  Commodore  Jones  at  Callao,  together  with  a 
Boston  newspaper,  giving  from  a  New  Orleans  paper  one 
of  those  common  lies  about  English  interference,  which 
had  for  years  been  plentifully  manufactured  by  the  parti 
sans  of  annexation. 

The  lie  which  now  caught  the  eye  of  the  Commodore 
was,  that  Mexico  had  ceded  California  to  Great  Britain  for 
$7,000,000  !  It  so  happened  that  three  British  armed 
vessels  were  at  this  time  in  the  Pacific,  and  the  watchful 
Commodore  did  not  know  their  business,  nor  where  they 
were  going.  The  Mexican  documents  induced  him  to 
guess,  that  war  had  been  declared  between  the  United 
States  and  Mexico,  and  the  rumor  given  from  the  New 
Orleans  paper,  led  him  to  guess,  that  Great  Britain  had 
purchased  California  ;  and  as  he  had  not  been  informed 
where  the  three  British  vessels  were  going,  he  guessed 
they  had  gone  to  take  possession  of  the  newly  purchased 
territory.  He  accordingly  left  Callao  on  the  7th  Sep 
tember,  1842,  "crowding  all  sail  on  the  direct  coast  of 
Mexico"  (California).  The  next  day  he  summoned  a 


84  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

council  of  his  officers,  submitted  to  them  his  documents, 
at  the  same  time  expressing  his  belief  that  the  British 
squadron  was  there  on  its  way  to  Panama,  "  where  it  will 
be  reinforced  by  troops,  &c.,  from  the  West  Indies  (! !) 
destined  for  the  occupation  of  California."  Under  these 
circumstances,  he  asked  for  the  advice  of  his  three  cap 
tains,  as  to  the  "employment  of  the  small  naval  force 
(three  vessels),  at  my  disposal  so  as  to  best  promote  the 
interests  and  honor  of  our  country,  thus  suddenly  jeo 
parded  /"  The  three  marine  statesmen  assembled  in  the 
cabin  of  the  United  States  frigate,  thus  intrusted  by  the 
Commodore  with  the  Aveighty  question  of  peace  and  war, 
advised  that  the  squadron,  already  "  crowding ^1  sail"  for 
California,  should  continue  its  course ;  and  moreover  an 
nounced,  as  the  result  of  their  deliberation,  that,  "  in  case 
of  war  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico,  it  would 
be  their  (the  officers)  bounden  duty  to  take  possession 
of  California,"  and  that  they  "  should  consider  the  mili 
tary  occupation  of  the  Californias  by  any  European  power, 
but  more  particularly  by  our  great  commercial  rival  Eng 
land,  and  especially  at  this  particular  juncture,  as  a  mea 
sure  so  decidedly  hostile  to  the  true  interests  of  the  United 
States  as  not  only  to  warrant,  but  to  make  it  our  duty,  to 
forestall  the  designs  of  Admiral  Thomas,  if  possible,  by 
supplanting  the  Mexican  flag  with  that  of  the  United 
States  at  Monterey,  San  Francisco,  and  any  other  ten 
able  points  within  the  territory  said  to  have  been  re 
cently  ceded  by  secret  treaty  to  Great  Britain." 

These  naval  expounders  of  the  laws  of  nations  would 
have  regarded  the  expression  by  any  European  power 
of  a  doubt  of  the  right  of  the  United  States  to  purchase 
territory  in  either  of  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe,  as  an 
insult  to  the  national  sovereignty  ;  but  they  calmly  deter 
mine,  "without  consulting  their  own  government,  to  rob 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  85 

England  of  a  territory  they  supposed  she  had  acquired  by 
treaty,  although  they  well  knew  that  by  such  a  robbery 
they  would,  of  course,  involve  their  country  in  a  war  with 
their  great  and  powerful  "  commercial  rival." 

The  three  officers  composing  the  Council,  as  well  as 
the  Commodore,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  under 
whom  they  were  acting,  were  all  from  the  slave  States. 

On  the  19th  October,  the  Commodore  entered  the  har 
bor  of  Monterey.  The  Mexican  and  not  the  British  flag 
met  his  sight,  and  of  course  he  achieved  an  easy  conquest. 
He  landed,  and,  without  opposition,  took  possession  of  the 
fort,  and  unfurled  the  stars  and  stripes.  The  provident 
Commodore  had  brought  with,  him  for  the  edification  of 
the  Californians,  whom  he  intented  instantly  to  transform 
into  American  citizens,  printed  proclamations  in  the  Spa 
nish  language,  whicli  were  without  loss  of  time  distributed 
among  the  inhabitants.  "  These  stripes  and  stars,"  said 
the  proclamation,  "  infallible  emblems  of  civil  liberty,  of 
liberty  of  conscience,  with  constitutional  right  and  lawful 
security  to  worship  the  great  Deity  in  the  way  most  con 
genial  to  each  one's  sense  of  duty  to  his  Creator,  now  float 
triumphantly  before  you,  and  hence  and  for  ever  will  give 
protection  and  security  to  you  and  your  children,  and  to 
countless  unborn  thousands. ^  Amid  all  this  fustian  we  ! 
distinctly  discover,  that  the  immediate  and  permanent  an 
nexation  of  California  was  the  object  of  the  expedition. 

It  does  not  appear  where  this  magnificent  proclamation 
was  prepared  and  printed.  Printing  presses  are  not,  it  is 
believed,  included  in  the  ordinary  equipments  of  ships  of 
war,  and  it  is  therefore  a  natural  inference  that  the  pro 
clamation  was  printed  either  in  Washington,  or  at  Callao, 
the  port  from  Avhich  the  Commodore  had  departed  for 
Monterey.  In  either  case,  it  seems  that  the  conquest  of 
California  was  deliberately  resolved  on  before  the  Commo-  7 
Q 


86  REVIEW    OF    THK    .MEXICAN     WAR. 

dore  convened  his  officers  to  sanction  by  their  advice  the 
enterprise  he  had  already  commenced.  On  the  13th  Sep 
tember,  six  days  after  lie  had  left  Callao,  and  while  on  his 
course  to  Monterey,  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Upshur,  "  In  all  that 
I  may  do  (in  reference  to  California),  I  shall  confine  my 
self  strictly  to  what  I  may  suppose  would  be  your  views 
and  orders,  had  you  the  means  of  communicating  them  to 
me."  Mr.  Upshur's  well-known  sentiments,  and  the  cha 
racter  of  the  ultra  pro-slavery  party  to  which  he  belonged, 
leave  no  doubt  that  the  Commodore  perfectly  compre 
hended  his  wishes. 

The  day  after  Jones  had  distributed  his  proclamation 
with  all  its  fine  promises,  he  discovered  that,  instead  of 
robbing  Great  Britain  of  a  territory  she  had  purchased, 
he  had  seized  upon  a  possession  of  a  neighboring  Republic 
still  at  peace  with  his  own  country.  The  "  infallible  em 
blems  of  civil  liberty,"  &c.,  etc.,  were  therefore  lowered, 
and  a  due  apology  was  made  to  the  Mexican  commander ; 
and  the  succeeding  day,  the  Commodore,  abandoning  the 
task  of  converting  the  Californians  into  American  citizens, 
returned  to  the  more  inglorious  but  more  innocent  occu 
pation  of  exploring  the  coast  and  bays  of  California,  pre 
paratory  to  another  and  less  transient  conquest. 

The  Government  at  home*  was,  of  course,  compelled  to 
disavow  Jones's  act ;  but  in  vain  was  his  punishment  de 
manded  by  Mexico.  She  was  informed  that  he  "  intended 
no  indignity  to  the  government  of  Mexico,  nor  anything 
unlawful  to  her  citizens." 


REVIEW    OF    THE   MEXICAN    WAR.  87 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

NEGOTIATION    AND    REJECTION    OF    TREATY    OF    ANNEXATION 
WITH    TEXAS. 

'  THE  treaty  concluded  with  Great  Britain  in  1842,  by  re 
moving  all  apprehension  of  collision  with  that  power  re 
specting  the  north-eastern  boundary,  gave  a  fresh  impe 
tus  to  the  partisans  of  annexation.  It  had  been  foreseen 
that  a  war  with  England,  by  diverting  the  forces  of  the 
United  States,  and  by  giving  Mexico  a  powerful  ally, 
might  enable  the  latter  to  repossess  herself  of  Texas. 
This  danger  being  passed,  Messrs.  Tyler  andJSpskur  de 
termined  that  annexation  should  no  longer  be  delayed. 
Texas,  moreover,  haoJjJeeiiacknowledged  by  France  and 
England.  With  the  latter  she  had  entered  into  a  treaty 
for  the  suppression  of  the  slave-trade,  thus  nominally 
yielding  what  the  United  States  had  sternly  refused.  This 
ve*y  treaty  was  alarming  to  the  slaveholders,  who  became 
apprehensive  that,  if  Texas  was  left  to  herself,  owing  to 
emigration  from  abroad,  the  time  might  come  when  sla 
very  would  be  abolished  within  her  borders,  and  this  ap 
prehension  seems  to  have  been  shared  by  some  of  the 
Texan  leaders  themselves/  General  Lamar,  recently  Pre 
sident  of  the  Republic,  about  this  time  addressed  a  letter 
to  his  friends  in  Georgia  warning  them  that,  unless  an 
nexation  shall  be  effected,  "  the  anti-slavery  party  in  Texas 
will  acquire  the  ascendancy,  and  may  not  only  abolish  sla 
very  by  a  constitutional  vote,  but  may  change  the  whole 
character  of  the  constitution  itself.Y 

"  At  present  the  anti-slavery  party  is  in  the  minority  ; 


88  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

but  it  would  be  dangerous,  even  now,  to  agitate  the  ques 
tion  with  much  violence,  for  the  majority  of  the  people  of 
Texas  are  not  owners  of  slaves.  Texas,  if  left  to  stand 
alone,  there  is  every  probability  that  slavery  will  be  aban 
doned  in  that  country.  The  negroes  are  yet  but  few  in 
number,  and  would  be  emancipated  in  the  country  with 
out  the  slightest  inconvenience,  and  indeed  would  continue 
to  be  useful  in  the  capacity  of  hirelings."  He  then  goes 
on  to  remark  that,  as  to  the  southern  States,  annexation 
"  would  give  stability  and  safety  to  their  domestic  institu 
tions,  and  thereby  save  them  FOR  EVER  from  the  unpara- 
lelled  calamities  of  abolition." 

/The  very  idea  of  freedom  in  Texas  aroused  the  slave 
holders  to  new  and  more  resolute  efforts  for  immediate 
annexation.  /  So  unequivocal  had  become  the  indications 
of  a  determination  on  the  part  of  the  south,  to  brook  no 
longer  delay,  that  at  the  close  of  the  session  of  Congress 
in  March,  1843,  J.  Q.  Adams,  and  twelve  other  repre 
sentatives  published  an  address  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  warning  them  of  the  machinations  of  the 
administration  to  secure  the  extension  of  slavery,  by  add 
ing  Texas  to  the  Union — pointing  out  the  gross  violation 
of  our  neutral  obligations  towards.  Mexico,  and  calling 
upon  the  free  States  for  renewed  and  increased  activity  to 
avert  the  calamity  with  which  the  country  was  threat 
ened.  Subsequent  events  speedily  confirmed  the  fore 
sight  of  this  address,  with  a  single  exception.  The  ad 
dress  declared  that  the  annexation  of  Texas  would  be  a 
measure  in  such  violation  of  the  Constitution,  and  for  a 
purpose  so  odious  and  profligate,  as  "  not  only  inevitably 
to  result  in  a  dissolution  of  the  Union,  but  fully  to  justify 
it."  How  far  this  prediction  was  uttered  in  the  spirit  of 
prophecy,  it  is  yet  too  soon  to  determine. 

Mr.  Upshur,  whose  sympathies  for  Texas  were,  as  we 
have  seen,  connected  with  the  price  of  Virginia  negroes, 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  89 

was  called  by  Mr.  Tyler  to  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State, 
and,  availing  himself  of  the  facilities  afforded  by  his  nev/ 
office,  prosecuted  with  vigor  the  work  of  opening  another 
and  most  extensive  slave  market. 

On  the  13rh  September,  1843,  he  informed  Mr. 
Thompson  of  the  intention  of  the  Government  to  remon 
strate,  in  a  formal  manner,  with  Mexico,  unless  she  shall 
make  peace  with  Texas,  or  shall  show  a  disposition  and 
ability  to  prosecute  the  war  with  respectable  forces. 
This  was  only  another  device  to  provoke  a  quarrel.  The 
idea  of  our  being  offended  with  Mexico,  because  she  was 
dilatory  in  killing  our  friends  and  brethren  in  Texas,  was 
too  ridiculous  to  be  seriously  pressed,  even  by  Mr.  Tyler's 
administration.  A  letter  written  by  Upsher,  a  few  days 
before,  to  Murphy,  our  agent  in  Texas,  reveals  the  true 
reason  why  the  Cabinet  had  indulged  the  thought  of 
bullying  Mexico  into  a  peace  with  Texas.  On  the  8th 
September,  he  tells  Murphy,  there  is  a  rumor  of  a  plan 
in  England,  to  raise  money  for  the  Texan  government, 
wherewith  to  abolish  slavery,  by  indemnifying  the  masters, 
and  that  the  English  capitalists  were  to  take  Texan  land 
in  payment.  "  Such  an  attempt,"  said  the  Secretary, 
ever  anxious  for  the  anticipated  market  for  Virginia  slaves, 
"  upon  any  neighboring  nation,  would  necessarily  be 
viewed  by  this  Government  with  very  deep  concern  ;  but 
when  it  is  made  upon  a  nation  whose  territory  joins  the 
slave-holding  States  of  our  Union,  it  awakens  still  more 
solemn  interest.  It  cannot  be  permitted  to  succeed  with- 
ous  most  strenuous  efforts  on  our  part  to  avert  a  calamity 
so  serious  to  every  part  of  our  country.  Few  calamities 
could  befal  this  country  more  to  be  deplored  than  the 
establishment  of  a  predominant  British  influence,  and  the 

ABOLITION  OF  DOMESTIC  SLAVERY  IN  TEXAS."* 

*  Ex.  Doc.,  1st  Sess.,  28th  Cong.     No.  271. 
8* 


90  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

The  correspondence  between  Upshur  and  Murphy  is 
one  of  the  most  humiliating  to  a  true-minded  American, 
of  any  that  has  ever  disgraced  the  annals  of  his  country. 
"  So  far  as  this  Government  is  concerned,"  writes  Upshur, 
September  2 2d,  1843,  "We  have  every  desire  to  come 
to  the  aid  of  Texas  in  the  most  prompt  and  effectual  man 
ner.  How  far  we  shall  be  supported  by  the  people,  I 
regret,  is  somewhat  doubtful.  There  is  no  reason  to  fear 
there  will  be  any  difference  of  opinion  among  the  people 
of  the  SLAVE-HOLDING  STATES."  Murphy,  in  his  reply, 
September  24th,  1843,  takes  the  liberty  of  giving  the 
Secretary  of  State  some  shrewd  advice, — "  Say  nothing 
about  abolition  ;"  and  again,  in  another  letter,  *'  Do  not 
offend  our  fanatical  brethren  of  the  north.  Talk  about 
civil  and  political  and  religious  liberty.  This  will  be 
found  the  safest  issue  to  go  before  the  world  with."  In 
other  words,  go  before  the  world  with  a  lie  in  your  mouth 
about  the  rights  and  liberty  of  Texas,  which  is  already  as 
free  as  we  are,  and  conceal  from  the  people  of  the  north, 
that  our  only  object  is  to  extend  and  perpetuate  negro 
slavery.  The  advice  was  partially  followed,  and  the  cry 
of  "  extend  the  area  of  freedom  "  was  raised  by  the  slave 
holders  and  their  northern  allies.  But  "  out  of  the 
fulness  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh,"  and  before  long, 
all  disguise  was  set  aside,  and  the  true  object  boldly  and 
unblushingly  avowed  "  before  the  world,''  both  by  the 
Government  and  by  southern  legislatures  and  popular 
meetings.  The  story  of  the  contemplated  pecuniary  con 
tribution  in  England  to  advance  the  cause  of  human 
liberty  in  Texas,  was  unfortunately  without  foundation  ; 
like  a  multitude  of  similar  falsehoods  in  relation  to  the 
anti-slavery  interference  of  England,  it  was  intended  to 
facilitate  annexation.  On  the  17th  October,  Upshur  pro 
posed  to  the  Texan  agent  a  treaty  of  annexation.  The 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  91 

Mexican  Minister  at  Washington,  aware  of  the  intrigues  of 
the  Cabinet,  gave  notice,  that  if  Texas  were  received  into 
the  Union,  he  must  ask  for  his  passports.  Mr.  Upshur 
replied  in  an  insulting  tone,  declining  all  explanation,  and 
treating  with  scorn  the  intimation  of  Mexican  hostility. 
In  the  mean  time,  the  Texans  having  shown  less  eager 
ness  to  enter  into  the  proposed  treaty  than  Upshur  had 
anticipated,  he  became  alarmed,  and  thought  proper  to 
menace  even  the  free  and  independent  Republic  of  Texas. 
He  wrote  to  Murphy  (January  16th,  1844,)  of  course  for 
the  information  of  the  Texan  leaders,  that  in  case  annex 
ation  should  be  declined  by  the  latter,  "  Instead  of  being, 
as  we  ought  to  be,  the  closest  friends,  it  is  inevitable  we 
shall  become  the  bitterest  foes  ;"  and  he  warns  them,  that 
without  annexation,  Texas  "  cannot  maintain  that  institu 
tion  (slavery)  ten  years — probably  not  half  that  time." 
To  remove  all  apprehension,  that,  if  Texas  should  consent 
to  a  treaty  of  annexation,  she  might  be  subjected  to  the 
mortification  of  having  the  treaty  rejected  for  want  of  the 
constitutional  majority  of  two-thirds  of  the  Senate  in  its 
favor,  he  hazarded,  in  his  desperation,  the  following  most 
extraordinary  assertion  : — "  Measures  have  been  taken  to 
ascertain  the  opinions  and  views  of  Senators  upon  the  sub 
ject,  and  it  is  ascertained  that  a  clear  majority  of  two- 
thirds  are  in  favor  of  the  measure  ! !  "  The/<zc£  that  this 
very  Senate,  whose  votes  Mr.  Upshur  professed  to  have 
canvassed,  rejected  the  treaty,  by  a  majority  of  more  than 
two-thirds,  throws  a  painful  suspicion  upon  the  personal 
veracity  of  the  American  Secretary  ;  and  the  more  so,  as 
no  explanation  was  ever  given  to  the  public  of  the  won 
derful  discrepancy  between  h-is  canvass  and  the  actual 
vote. 

Great  Britain  thought  proper  to  disavow  the  machina 
tions  which  it  had  been  deemed  expedient  by  the  parti- 


92  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR, 

sans  of  Texas  to  ascribe  to  her.  Our  Government  was,  on 
the  8th  April,  officially  informed,  that  it  was  indeed  well 
known  to  the  whole  world  that  Great  Britain  desired  the 
abolition  of  Slavery  wherever  it  existed,  but  that  she 
would  not  unduly  interfere  to  accomplish  it — that  she 
aimed  at  no  dominant  influence  in  Texas,  and  that,  in 
striving  for  human  liberty,  the  Government  would  not 
"  openly  nor  secretly  resort  to  any  measures  which  can 
tend  to  disturb  the  tranquillity,  or  thereby  affect  the  pros 
perity  of  the  American  Union."  This  avowal,  so  frank 
and  honorable,  so  becoming  a  free  and  a  Christian  people, 
perhaps  hurried  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty,  as  it  re 
moved  one  of  the  pretended  reasons  alleged  for  its  neces 
sity.  Four  days  after  the  British  document  was  received, 
Mr.  Calhoun,  as  Secretary  of  State,  to  which  office  he  had 
been  appointed  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Upshur,  had  the 
gratifi cation  of  signing  a  treaty  with  Texas,  by  which  that 
State  was  annexed  to  the  American  Union. 

In  the  proud  elation  of  feeling  caused  by  so  signal  a 
triumph  in  the  cause  of  human  bondage,  Mr.  Calhoun  re 
plied  on  the  8th  April,  1844,  to  the  communication  from 
the  English  Minister.  He  declared  that  the  President 
viewed  with  deep  concern,  the  desire  avowed  by  Great 
Britain  for  the  abolition  of  slavery ;  that  in  his  opinion, 
Texas  by  herself,  could  not  withstand  a  compliance  with 
this  desire,  and  therefore  "  It  is  the  imperative  duty  of 
the  Federal  Government,  the  common  representative  and 
protector  of  the  States  of  the  Union,  to  adopt,  in  self- 
defence,  the  most  effectual  means  to  resist  it ;"  and  that, 
in  obedience  to  this  obligation,  a  treaty  of  annexation  had 
been  concluded.  "And  this  step"  (he  asserted)  "  had  been 
taken  as  the  most  effectual,  if  not  the  only  means  of 
guarding  against  the  threatened  danger."  The  next  day 
he  addressed  a  letter  to  the  American  Agent  in  Mexico, 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  93 

announcing  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty,  a  step,  he  says, 
"  which,  was  forced  on  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
in  self-defence,  in  consequence  of  the  policy  adopted  by 
Great  Britain  in  reference  to  the  abolition  of  slavery  in 
Texas." 

The  audacious  mendacity  of  this  declaration  is  the  more 
remarkable,  as  Mr.  Calhoun's  own  language  bears  witness 
to  its  falsity.  The  readers  of  these  sheets  have  already 
had  abundant  proof,  that  the  annexation  of  Texas  was 
prompted  by  other  motives  than  "  self-defence"  against 
the  anti-slavery  policy  of  Great  Britain,  as  manifested  in 
that  Republic.  So  early  as  the  27th  May,  1836,  imme 
diately  after  the  rumor  of  the  battle  of  San  Jacinto, 
and  even  before  the  official  account  of  the  victory  had 
reached  Washington,  and  while  Great  Britain  was  wholly 
ignorant  of  the  existence  of  such  a  Republic  as  Texas, 
Mr.  Calhoun,  in  his  place  in  the  Senate,  proposed  the 
recognition  of  the  Independence  of  Texas,  and  her 
immediate  admission  into  the  Union  !  !  In  his  speech  on 
the  occasion,  he  remarked,  "There  were  powerful  rea 
sons  why  Texas  should  be  a  part  of  this  Union.  The 
southern  States,  owning  a  slave  population,  were  deeply 
interested  in  preventing  that  country  from  having  the  power 
to  annoy  them.1"*  A  revolted  province  was  in  actual  war 
with  the  parent  country,  and,  while  the  slain  in  the  last 
battle  were  still  unburied,  this  champion  of  slavery  pro 
poses  the  instant  incorporation  of  this  province  into  the 
Union  for  the  benefit  of  the  slaveholders — utterly  reckless 
of  the  wickedness  of  the  act,  trampling  under  foot  the 
obligations  of  neutrality,  and  regardless  of  the  calamities 
of  war  which  such  a  measure  would  inevitably  inflict  upon 
nis  country. 

But  it  is  not   enough  that   Mr.   Calhoun's  statement 

*  Cong.  Globe— 29th  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  p.  496 


94  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

should  be  falsified  by  himself.  We  summon  a  witness  far 
more  competent,  and  quite  as  credible  as  himself.  Gene 
ral  Houston  may  well  be  called  the  father  of  the  Texan 
Republic,  having  commanded  its  army  on  the  field  of  San 
Jacinto,  and  afterwards  presided  over  its  councils  as  Pre 
sident.  The  treaty  with  England  was  negotiated  under 
his  direction,  and  he  was  necessarily  intimately  acquainted 
with  all  the  foreign  relations  of  Texas.  He  was,  more 
over,  chosen  by  the  State  of  Texas  to  represent  her  in  the 
United  States  Senate.  On  the  19th  February,  1847,  he 
declared  in  his  place  in  the  Senate,  "  England  never  pro 
posed  the  subject  of  slavery  or  of  abolition  to  Texas ; 
England  never  made  a  suggestion  to  Texas  which,  if  she 
had  pursued  or  accepted,  would  have  degraded  her  in  the 
eyes  of  the  purest  patriot  that  ever  lived.  Captain  Elliot 
(British  Minister  in  Texas)  required  nothing  but  commer 
cial  relations  between  England  and  Texas,  and  an  inter 
change  of  her  fabrics  for  the  products  of  the  South.''*  So 
much  for  the  monstrous  assertion  that  the  treaty  of  annex 
ation  "  was  forced  upon  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  in  self-defence,  in  consequence  of  the  policy  adopted 
by  Great  Britain  in  reference  to  the  abolition  of  slavery  in 
Texas." 

/XThe  treaty  referred  to  was  submitted  to  the  Senate  on 
the  22d  April,  1844,  and  was  REJECTED  by  that  body  by 
a  vote  of  thirty-five  to  sixteen,  Mr.  Upshur's  pledge  to 
the  Texan  Government,  that  two-thirds  of  the  Senate 
would  approve  of  it,  notwithstanding. 
/  Under  no  circumstances  could  this  treaty  have  received 
the  consent  of  two-thirds  of  the  Senate,  but  the  greatness 
of  the  vote  against  it  was  owing  to  other  causes  than  hos 
tility  to  annexation/  Mr.  Tyler  was  the  most  unpopular 


President  thsfriiad-ever^ 

*  Cong.  Globe— 29th  Cong.  2d  Sess.,  p.  459. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN   WAR.  95 

Ho  was  without  personal  or  political  influence/ and  his 
term  of  office  was  now  so  nearly  expired,  that  he  had  but 
little  patronage  with  which  to  secure  Senatorial  votes.  /  It 
was  clearly  ascertained  that  the  treaty  could  not  be  rati 
fied  even  were  all  the  friends  of  annexation  to  vote  for  it ; 
and  hence  many  of  those  friends  consulted  their  own 
political  views  and  prejudices  in  swelling  the  majority 
against  it,  and  thus  thwarting  the  aspirations  of  Mr.  Cal- 
houn.  A  presidential  election  was  approaching,  and  the 
southern  opponents  of  Mr.  Calhoun  were  well  content  to 
diminish  by  their  votes  the  influence  his  zeal  in  the  cause 
of  Texas  was  calculated  to  give  him.  Although  eager 
for  Texas,  they  could  not  vote  for  a  treaty  so  very  objec 
tionable  as  that  made  by  Mr.  Calhoun  ;  whereas,  had  its 
ratification  depended  on  them,  there  is  little  doubt  their 
votes  would  have  been  different. 


96  REVIEW   OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

MOKE    ATTEMPTS    TO    IRRITATE    MEXICO. 

TUB  majority  in  the  Senate  against  the  Texan  treaty  had 
taught  Messrs.  Tyler  and  Calhoun  the  necessity  of  pre 
venting,  as  far  as  possible,  any  new  obstacle  to  a  measure 
so  near  to  their  hearts.  One  great  argument  for  annexa 
tion  was,  that  the  war  had  virtually  ceased  between  Texas 
and  Mexico,  the  latter  having  for  years  refrained  from  all 
active  hostility.  Suddenly  the  Cabinet  was  alarmed 
by  some  threatening  proclamations  issued  by  the  Mexican, 
authorities  against  Texas,  couched  in  the  usual  inflated 
style.  Past  experience  had  shown  the  inability  of  Mexico 
to  subdue  her  rebellious  province,  sheltered,  as  it  was, 
beneath  the  wing  of  the  great  republic.  The  threats  of 
the  Mexicans  were,  indeed,  idle  words  ;  but  Mr.  Tyler  knew 
that,  should  the  war  be  in  fact  renewed,  its  existence 
would  be  an  argument  against  annexation,  as  that  measure 
under  such  circumstances  would  necessarily  make  the 
United  States  a  party  to  the  war.  It  was,  therefore, 
resolved  either  to  induce  Mexico  to  relinquish  her  design 
to  renew  hostilities,  or  else  to  goad  her  into  war  against 
ourselves.  Hence,  on  the  14th  October,  1844,  Mr.  Shan 
non,  who  had  succeeded  Mr.  Thompson  at  Mexico,  in  obe 
dience  to  instructions,  presented  to  the  Government  an 
insolent  remonstrance  against  the  farther  prosecution  of 
the  war,  and  the  sanguinary  spirit  in  which  it  was  to  be 
waged.  He  declared  that  the  war  was  to  be  renewed  for 
the  purpose  of  defeating  annexation,  an  object  which 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  97 

Mr.  Tyler  would  not  permit — dwelt  upon  the  importance 
of  Texas  to  this  country,  and  plainly  intimated  that  we 
could  not  permit  her  to  be  invaded,  without  espou 
sing  her  quarrel.  We  can  readily  conceive  with  what 
intense  indignation  our  own  Government  would  re 
ceive  a  similar  letter  from  a  British  Minister,  insult 
ing  us  for  oui'  barbarous  mode  of  conducting  the  war 
against  Mexico,  threatening  us  with  vengeance  unless 
we  made  peace,  and  permitted  the  peaceful  cession  of 
California  to  the  British  crown.  Mexico,  feeble  and 
exhausted,  could  resent  the  insult  only  in  words ;  but 
they  were  words  full  of  dignity,  truth,  and  common 
sense.  Mr.  Rejon,  the  Mexican  Secretary  (October  20th, 
1844),  informed  Shannon  that  he  "  has  orders  to  repel 
the  protest  now  addressed  to  his  Government,  and  to 
declare  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  is  much 
mistaken,  if  he  supposes  Mexico  capable  of  yielding  to 
the  menace  which  he,  exceeding  the  powers  given  to  him  by 
the  fundamental  law  of  his  nation,  has  directed  against 
it."  After  commenting  on  the  conduct  of  the  United 
States,  he  concluded,  "  while  one  power  is  seeking  more 
ground  to  stain  by  the  SLAVERY  of  an  unfortunate  branch 
of  the  human  family,  the  other  is  endeavoring,  by  pre 
serving  what  belongs  to  it,  to  diminish  the  surface  which 
the  former  wants  for  this  detesfable  traffic.  Let  the  world 
now  say,  which  of  the  two  has  justice  and  reason  on 
its  side." 

This  letter  was  received  in  high  dudgeon  by  Mr.  Shan 
non,  who  haughtily  demanded  a  retraction  of  the  Secre 
tary's  letter,  on  the  penalty  of  suspending  all  farther 
intercourse  till  he  heard  from  Washington.  To  this 
impertinence,  Mr.  Rejon  replied  that  he  was  not  surprised 
by  Mr.  Shannon's  reluctance  to  discuss  the  conduct  of  his 
Government,  "  Tn  fact,  to  what  else  can  be  attributed 
9 


98  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

this  exclusive  desire  to  claim  for  himself,  his  nation,  and 
his  Government,  that  respect  denied  by  him  to  the 
Mexican  Republic  and  its  Government,  to  which  he  has 
so  often  applied  the  term  BARBAROUS,  in  his  note  of  14th 
October  ?  Is  the  Government  of  ihe  United  States 
superior  in  dignity,  or  has  its  legislature  any  right  to  be 
thus  wanting  in  respect  to  a  Government  to  which  it  has 
refused  the  attentions  due  by  courtesy  to  mere  individu 
als  ?  Instead  of  withdrawing  his  letter,  he  is  ordered  to 
reiterate  his  former  statements." 

The  manly,  honest  rebuke  administered  by  Rejon  to 
President  Tyler,  naturally  gave  great  offence  to  that  gen 
tleman;  and  on  the  19th  December,  1844,  he  laid  the 
correspondence  before  Congress  with  very  indignant 
comments  on  "  the  extraordinary  and  highly  offensive 
language  which  the  Mexican  Government  has  thought 
proper  to  employ."  But  although  he  thought  the  con 
duct  of  Mexico  "might  well  justify  the  United  States  in 
a  resort  to  any  measure  to  vindicate  their  national  honor," 
he  abstained,  through  a  sincere  desire  to  preserve  peace, 
from  recommending  a  resort  to  "  measures  of  redress," 
and  contented  himself  with  urging  "  prompt  and  .imme 
diate  action  on  the  subject  of  annexation." 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  99 


CHAPTER    XV. 

ELECTION    OF     MR.  POLK. 

A  SUCCESSOR  to  Mr.  Tyler  was  to  be  chosen  at  the  close 
of  1844  ;  but,  when  the  treaty  was  rejected  in  June  of 
that  year,  no  political  sagacity  could  predict  upon  whom 
the  choice  would  fall.  Mr.  Tyler's  wayward  course, 
together  with  other  causes,  had  greatly  curtailed  the 
power  of  the  whigs  ;  but  there  was  no  proof  that  they 
had  lost  their  ascendency. 

In  many  instances  the  slaveholders  had  boldly  declared, 
that  no  candidate  opposed  to  annexation,  should  receive 
their  vote.  This  sentiment  was  uttered  in  the  formal 
resolves  of  their  popular  meeting,  and  reiterated  by  the 
slave  press.  Mr.  Clay  was  the  whig  candidate ;  and  to 
his  influence  at  the  South  was  added  the  cordial  and 
unanimous  support  of  the  whigs  at  the  North  ;  under  his 
auspices  the  party  anticipated  a  decided  victory.  The 
democratic  party  presented  a  much  less  imposing  front 
than  its  rival.  Its  prominent  candidate  was  Mr.  Van 
Buren  who,  as  well  as  Mr.  Clay,  had  expressed  a  cautious 
qualified  opinion  adverse  to  annexation  at  the  present  time, 
and  under  existing  circumstances ;  but  neither  had 
ventured  to  hint  an  objection  to  the  extension  of  slavery. 
The  democratic  nominating  convention  met  at  Baltimore  late 
in  May,  and  gave  Mr.  Van  Buren  a  majority  of  its  votes,  as 
the  democratic  candidate  for  the  Presidency.  But  the 
Southern  members  insisted  and  finally  succeeded,  that  a 
majority  of  two-thirds  should  be  necessary  to  a  nomination. 


100  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

Thert  wo -third  rule/of  course  made  those  members  masters 
of  the  Convention  ;  and  it  wa^ojonjound  that  no  candi 
date  could  be  s ejected  excep^,jJia.^nominpp  of  Ac  slave 
holders! Mr.  Van  Buren  was  rejected  ;  and  the  northern 
democracy  were  compelled  to  accep^Mr.  Polk^n  his  room. 
The  qualifications  which  procured  for  this  gentleman  the 
honor  of  a  nomination,  were  doubtless  his  devotionjbojbhe 
cause  of  sla.very,  his  vituperation  of  the  abolitionists  and 
a  recent  printed  "letter  in  which  he_jLdy^cji^i-lii£CiMMg- 

DIATE    ANNEXATION    OF    TEXAS. 

The  Convention  having  thus  been  compelled  to  nomi 
nate  Mr.  Polk,  the  triumph  of  the  democratic  party,  and 
its  possession  of  power  and  office,  of  course  depended  on 
his  election.  To  secure  that  election,  the  party  were  ne 
cessarily  compelled  to  adopt  as  their  own  the  policy 
avowed  by  their  candidate.  Hence  it  became  expedient 
for  the  Convention,  as  the  representatives  of  the  whole 
democratic  party,  to  insist  upon  the  immediate  annexation 
of.  Texas,  and  to  enter  the  contest  with  these  ominous 
words  inscribed  on  their  banners.  Many  of  the  party 
presses  at  the  North  had  been  loud  in  their  denunciations 
of  the  Texan  plot ;  and  in  the  northern  legislatures,  demo 
crats  had  vied  with  the  whigs  in  passing  resolutions  con 
demning  annexation.  But  the  council  of  Baltimore  was 
deemed  infallible  in  matters  of  faith  ;  and  forthwith  the 
democracy  of  the  North  united  with  the  slaveholders 
of  the  South  in  their  efforts  to  extend  the  curse  of  human 
bondage.  Mr.  Polk  received  a  majority  of  the  electoral 
votes,  but  not  of  the  popular  suffrage  by  which  the  Elec 
tors  had  been  chosen. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  101 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

ANNEXATION    BY    JOINT    RESOLUTION. 

UNTIL_  the  refusal  of  the  Senate  to  ratify  Mr.  Tyler's 
treaty,  no  other  mode  of  annexation  than  by  treaty  had 
been  imagined.  Texas  claimed  to  be  an  independent  na 
tion,  and  had  been  acknowledged  as  such  by  the  United 
States,  France,  and  Great  Britain.  But  contracts  between 
independent  nations  are  treaties,  and  the  constitution  in 
trusts  the  power  of  making  treaties  to  the  President  and 
two-thirds  of  the^  Senate.  Of  all  contracts  between  two 
nations,  nonecSa  be  more  important  and  solemn  than  that 
which  surrenders  the  sovereignty  and  domains  of  the  one 
to  the  other.  All  the  territory  which  had  been  added  to 
the  United  States,  had  been  acquired  by  treaty./  Hence, 
when  Texas  contemplated  annexation,  she  proposed  doing 
it  by  treaty  i  and  Messrs.  Tyler,  Upshur,  and  Calhoun,  all 
concurred  at  a  later  date  in  inviting  Texas  to  enter  the 
confederacy  by  the  operation  of  a  treaty,  /put  the  slave 
holders  were  reminded  by  the  recent  occurrences,  that  it 
required  a  majority  of  two-thirds  of  the  Senate  to  annex 
a  foreign  territory  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the 
Constitution  j  and  that,  as  half  of  the  Senators  repre 
sented  free  States,  such  a  majority  was  at  present  unat 
tainable/  Necessity  is  the  mother  of  invention  ;  and  the 
truth  of  the  aphorism  now  received  a  remarkable  illustra 
tion,  /tt  was  suddenly  discovered^that  what  could  not  be 
effected  by  treaty,  could  as  well  be  performed  by  a  jc ' 
9* 


102  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

resolution  of  the  two__house£^if_Congress.  Such  a  reso 
lution  required  only  a  bare  majority  in  each  branch.  In 
this  way  treaties  for  theTuture,  might  be  dispensed  with 
whenever  the  Senate  was  found  uncomplying  /and  the 
foreign  intercourse  of  the  nation  might  be  regulated,  dis 
puted  boundaries  settled,  and  even  the  conditions  of  peace 
determined,  by  joint  resolution.  /  To  whom  is  to  be  attri 
buted  this  ingenious  device  for  setting  aside  the  Constitu 
tion,  smothering  the  oaths  taken  to  support  it,  and  usurp 
ing  the  treaty-making  power,  is  not  known  ;  but  Mr.  Tyler 
has  the  credit  of  first  announcing  the  discovery  to  the 
public.  Mortified  and  irritated  by  the  rejection  of  his 
treaty,  he  immediately  appealed  to  the  House  of  Repre- 
tatives,  laying  the  dishonored  document  before  them,  and 
hinting  that  it  was  possible  to  effect  annexation  by  other 
means  than  a  treaty.  But  Mr.  Tyler  had  so  utterly  anni 
hilated  the  respect  and  confidence  he  had  once  enjoyed, 
that  his  influence  was  nugatory  for  good  or  for  evil.  The 
annexation  of  Texas  was  indeed  effected,  but  it  was  effected 
by  other  influences  than  those  wielded  by  himself  or  by 
Mr.  Calhoun. 

administration  of  Mr.  Tyler  was  to  close,  and  that 

Mr.  Polk  to  commence,  on  the  4th  March,  1845. /The 
vote  againt  the  annexation  treaty  the  preceding  June,  had 
convinced  the  partisans  of  Texas,  of  the  impossibility  of 
effecting  their  favorite  object  in  a  constitutional  mode,  and 
the  friends  of  human  liberty  congratulated  themselves  that 

e  danger  was  passed.  The  election,  however,  of  Mr. 
Polk,  by  identifying  the  democracy  of  the  North  with  the 
policy  of  the  South,  revived  the  hopes,  and  invigorated 
the,  efforts  of  the  friends  of  Texas.  ^)(The  patronage  of  the 
government  had  now  for  the  next  four  years  been  placed 
at  the  disposal  of  an  avowed  and  zealous  advocate  of 
annexation.  Under  these  circumstances,  it  was  deter- 


REVIEW    OP    THE    MEXICAN 


mined  to  make  a  new  effort  to  secure  Texas, 
of  the  Constitution  .fvNor  was  the  expectation  very  un 
reasonable,  that  a  majority  of  the  very  Senate  that  had 
treated  Tyler  with  contumely,  as  he  was  sinking  below 
the  horizon,  might  do  homage  to  the  rising  sun. 

Mr.  Polk  was  to  be  sworn  into  office  on  the  4th  March  ; 
and  this  circumstance  afforded  an  excuse  for  the  arrival  at 
the  Capitol  some  weeks  earlier,  of  the  dispenser  of  the  na 
tion's  patronage.  His  presence  is  well  understood  to  have 
exerted  a  powerful  influence  on  the  votes  subsequently 
given.  /On  the  1st  March,  1845,  the  famous  joint  resolu 
tions,  for  the  annexation  of  Texas  as  one  of  the  States  of 
the  Federal  Union,  were  finally  passed  after  a  severe  and 
doubtful  struggle.  / 

One  of  the  most  extraordinary  incidents  of  this  most 
extraordinary  and  calamitous  legislation,  was  the  very  pe 
culiar  tenderness  of  conscience  evinced  by  certain  southern 
Senators.  The  Lower  House  had  passed  a  simple  resolu 
tion  of  annexation  by  a  majority  of  twenty-two.  But  some 
of  the  Senators,  although  rabid  for  Texas,  were  troubled 
by  the  oath  they  had  taken  to  support  the  Constitution, 
and  they  did  not  well  know  how  to  reconcile  that  oath 
with  the  trickery  by  which  it  was  intended  to  nullify  the 
treaty-making  power.  They  were  happily  relieved  by  the 
addition  of  another  resolution  virtually  giving  to  the  Pre- 
sidenTthe  option  of  effecting  annexation  by  resolution  or 
by  treaty.  This  ingenious  device  ot  authorizing  the  Presi-~ 
dent  to  respect  or  contemn  at  pleasure  the  requirements 
of  the  Constitution,  and  throwing  upon  him  the  responsi 
bility  of  the  choice,  relieved  the  scruples  of  these  conscien 
tious  gentlemen,  and  enabled  them  almost  at  the  very  last 
hour,  by  the  change  of  their  votes,  to  carry  the  question 
of  annexation,  in  the  Senate,  by  a  majority  of  two.  Should 
this  strange  expedient  for  satisfying  constitutional  scruples 


104  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

seem  insufficient  for  the  momentous  effects  ascribed  to  it, 
possibly  a  more  satisfactory  cause  may  be  found  in  a  de 
claration  made  in  a  southern  paper  during  the  debate, 
"  We  rejoice  that  those  deserting  democrats  who  oppose 
this  vital  measure  which  Mr.  Polk  so  anxiously  desires  to 
be  settled  at  this  session,  WILL  HAVE  NOTHING  TO  EXPECT 
FROM  HIS  ADMINISTRATION."  As  Mr.  Polk  was  at  this 
time  at  Washington,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  believe  that 
the  editor  of  the  Richmond  Enquirer,  was  not  the  sole 
confidant  of  his  intention  to  withhold  office  from  every 
member  who  voted  against  annexation. 

One  of  the  gentlemen  whose  scruples  threatened  to  de 
feat  annexation — but  who,  on  his  conscience  becoming  en 
lightened,  voted  for  the  measure,  and  thus  ensured  it  a 
majority  in  the  Senate — was  subsequently  appointed  by 
Mr.  Polk  to  a  foreign  mission. 

No  time  was  lost  by  Mr.  Tyler  in  making  the  choice 
offered  to  him  by  the  joint  resolutions.  On  the  3rd 
March,  a  few  hours  before  his  term  of  office  expired, 
he  despatched  a  messenger  to  the  American  agent  in 
Texas,  with  a  letter  from  Mr.  Calhoun,  instructing  him  to 
propose  the  resolution  of  annexation  to  the  acceptance  of 
the  Texan  Government,  very  sensibly  objecting  to  annex 
ation  by  treaty,  because  a  treaty  "  must  be  submitted  to 
the  Senate  for  its  ratification,  and  run  the  hazard  of  re 
ceiving  the  votes  of  two- thirds  of  the  members  present, 
which  could  hardly  be  expected  if  we  are  to  judge  from 
recent  experience."*  On  the  4th  July,  Texas  consented  to 

*  The  late  Chancellor  Kent,  of  New  York,  was  at  this  time 
unquestionably  the  most  eminent  Jurist  in  America.  He  thus 
•wrote  to  a  member  of  Congress  : — "  I  acknowledge  your  speech 
of  January  last  on  the  Annexation  of  Texas.  I  have  perused  it 
with  much  satisfaction  ;  and  I  deem  it  perfectly  conclusive,  that 
the  Annexation  of  Texas,  by  concurrent,  resolution  of  Congress, 
was  unwarrantable,  and  a  usurpation  of  the  treaty-making  power ; 
in  every  view,  violent,  unjust,  unconstitutional,  and  most  per 
nicious  and  unprincipled,  and  will  lead  to  the  ruin  of  the  Union." 


REVIEW    OP    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  105 

be  annexed,  and  the  22nd  of  the  ensuing  December,  she 
was  formally  received  as  a  State  into  the  Federal  Union. 

Independent  of  the  violence  done  to  the  cause  of  mor 
ality  in  the  mode  by  which  annexation  was  effected,  and 
in  the  motive  by  which  it  was  prompted,  the  measure  it 
self  was  a  gross  and  palpable  violation  of  the  neutral  ob 
ligations  of  the  United  States.  It  is  freely  admitted  that 
Texas  was  at  the  time  an  independent  State,  and  as  such 
had  a  right  to  form  a  union  with  the  Federal  Republic. 
But  Texas  was  at  war  with  Mexico ;  and  we  have  seen 
that  Mr.  Tyler  not  merely  acknowledged  the  existence  of 
the  war,  but,  after  his  Treaty  of  Annexation  had  been 
rejected,  officially  remonstrated  with  Mexico  on  the  bar 
barous  manner  in  which  that  power  intended  to  prosecute 
hostilities.  It  is  impossible  to  deny  that  a  neutral  nation, 
forming  an  alliance  offensive  and  defensive  with  another  at 
the  time  engaged  in  war,  by  that  very  act  becomes  herself 
a  belligerent.  But  annexation  was  an  alliance,  in  the  strong 
est  sense,  both  offensive  andlleTeriMvc.  80  sensible  was  - 
the  Administration  of  this  fact,  that,  as  we  shall  see  here 
after,  a  land  and  naval  force  was  prepared  to  defend  Texas 
against  the  meditated  assault  of  Mexico.  If  after  the 
commencement  of  hostilities  between  Mexico  and  the 
United  States,  England  or  France  had  accepted  a  cession 
of  California  from  Mexico,  the  acceptance  itself  would 
have  been  tantamount  to  a  declaration  of  war  against  this 
country.  Had  a  fleet  and  army  been  sent  from  Europe 
to  protect  Mexico  from  our  invasion,  would  the  fact  that 
Mexico  was  an  independent  nation  have  satisfied  us  that 
we  had  no  cause  for  complaint  at  such  an  interference  ? 
By  the  laws  of  nations,  annexation  was  an  act  of  war 
against  Mexico. 

Eight  years  before  this  event,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Channing, 
of  Boston,  in  a  publication  against  the  scheme  which  he 


106  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAH. 

well  knew  was  entertained  by  the  Administration — of  add 
ing  Texas  to  the  Union — uttered  the  following  fearful 
prediction,  which  has  now  for  the  most  part  become  his 
tory  : — "  By  this  act  (annexation)  our  country  will  enter  on 
a  career  of  encroachment  and  crime,  and  will  merit  the  pun 
ishment  and  woe  of  aggravated  wrong- doing.  The  seizure 
of  Texas  will  not  stand  alone.  It  will  be  linked,  by  an 
iron  necessity,  to  LONG-CONTINUED  DEEDS  OF  RAPINE  AND 
BLOOD.  Ages  may  not  see  the  catastrophy  of  the  tragedy 
the  first  scene  of  which  we  are  so  ready  to  enact..  Texas 
is  a  country  conquered  by  our  citizens,  and  the  annexation 
of  it  to  our  Union  will  be  but  the  beginning  of  conquests, 
"which,  unless  arrested  and  beaten  back  by  Providence, 
will  stop  only  at  the  Isthmus  of  Darien.  Henceforth  we 
"must  cease  to  cry — Peace,  peace.  Our  Eagle  will  whet, 
not  gorge,  his  appetite  on  his  first  victim,  and  will  snuff 
a  more  tempting  quarry,  more  alluring  blood,  in  every 
new  region  which  opens  southward." 


REVIEW    OF    THE   MEXICAN    WAR.  107 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

ANNEXATION    OF    CALIFORNIA    DESIGNED    BY   MR.    POLK. 

IMMEDIATELY  after  the  final  vote  on  the  annexation  of 
Texas  had  been  taken  in  the  Senate,  a  senator  from  Flo 
rida  arose  in  his  place,  and  introduced  a  resolution  de 
claring  it  expedient  for  the  President  to  open  negotiations 
for  the  cession  of  the  Island  of  Cuba  to  the  United  States. 
No  action  was  called  for ;  the  sole  object  of  the  resolution 
being  to  familiarize  the  public  mind  with  devices  for  the 
acquirement  of  slave  territory./The  addition  of  Texas 
operated  but  as  blood  to  the  famished  wolf^  and  the  ap 
petite  for  Mexican  provinces,  instead  of  being  satiated, 
was  stimulated  to  a  ravenous  ferocity.  Texas  had  been 
gained  virtually  under  Mr.  Tyler's  administration,  and 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  Mr.  Polk  was  resolved  that 
his  should  be  signalized  by  the  annexation  of  California. 
This  province  had  long  excited  the  cupidity  of  the  slave 
holders,  and  great  efforts  were  now  made  to  stimulate 
public  opinion  into  unison  with  the  designs  of  the  Presid 
ent.  The  newspapers  teemed  with  articles  on  the  fertility 
of  California,  its  vast  importance  to  the  United  States, 
and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  secret  designs  of  Great 
Britain  to  appropriate  it  to  herself,  either  by  force  or  by 
treaty,  /jjhe  reader  will  recollect  the  premature  seizure 
and  annexation  for  ever  of  California  by  Commodore  Jones  : 
he  will  also  call  to  mind  that,  at  an  earlier  period,  fruit 
less  efforts  had  been  made  to  purchase  the  province, 
whole  or  in  part.  /Already  many  of  our  restless  wander- 


108  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

nag  adventurers  had  penetrated  into  that  distant  territory^ 
and  the  opinion  had  been  extensively  propagated,  that  it 
was  a  region  too  rich  and  too  convenient  to  be  left  in  pos 
session  of  the  Mexicans.  The  Mexican  Government, 
taught  wisdom  by  the  result  of  Texan  colonization,  made 
_an  order  expelling  American  citizens  from  California, 
Ofor  Minister 


protested  s  and  the  ordinance  was  so  modi 
fied  as  to  include  all  foreigners  deemed  dangerous  to  the 
public  peace./  But  against  this  Mr.  Calhoun,  then  Secre 
tary  of  State,  ordered  a  new  protest^S^ 

Let  us  now  attend  to  the  confessions  of  our  Minister, 
Mr.  Thompson:  "Near  the  end  of  December,  1843,  I 
received  information  that  the  Government  of  Mexico  had 
issued  an  order  expelling  all  natives  of  the  United  States 
from  the  department  of  California  and  the  adjoining  de 
partments.  No  attempt,  however,  had  been  made  up  to 
that  time  to  execute  the  order.  A  similar  order  had  been 
issued  a  few  years  before,  including  not  only  citizens  of 
the  United  States,  but  British  subjects  also  ;  and  this 
order  had  been  actually  executed  to  the  great  damage 
and,  in  some  instances,  ruin  of  the  persons  removed.  All 
the  efforts  of  the  English  and  American  Ministers  to 
procure  a  recision  of  this  order  were  ineffectual  for  six 
months.  I  had  the  good  fortune,  however,  after  a  some 
what  angry  correspondence,  to  have  the  order  rescinded, 
not,  however,  until  I  resorted  to  the  ultima  ratio  of  diplo 
macy,  AND  DEMANDED  MY  PASSPORTS  —  a  measure  which  a 
minister  is  rarely  justified  in  resorting  to  without  the  orders 
of  his  government.  I  confess  I  was  very  much  afraid 
that  the  passports  would  have  been  sent  ;  but  I  thought 
that  the  step  was  justified  by  the  circumstances,  and  that 
it  would  cut  short  a  long  discussion.  The  result  showed 
that  in  this  calculation  I  was  right.  The  order  was  re 
scinded,  and  expresses  sent  to  all  the  departments,  the 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  109 

distance  of  some  of  which  was  two  thousand  miles.  I 
confess  that  in  taking  the  high  ground  I  did,  upon  the 
order  expelling  our  people  from  California,  I  felt  some 
compunctious  visitings  ;  for  I  had  been  informed  that  a 
plot  had  been  arranged,  and  was  about  being  developed  by 
the  Americans  and  other  foreigners  in  that  department,  to 
re-enact  the  scenes  of  Texas."  * 

Mr.  Thompson,  in  describing  California,  says :  "  Sugar, 
rice,  and  cotton,  find  there  their  own  congenial  clime  " — 
p.  234.  Of  course  the  same  motives  which  led  to  the 
"scenes  in  Texas,"  would  prompt  their  re-enactment . in 
California.  We  shall  see  hereafter  that  Mr.  Thompson 
was  not  misinformed. 

There  were  two  modes  of  acquiring  California  —  by 
negotiation  and  by  war.  The  first  was  the  most  econo 
mical,  the  latter  would  probably  be  the  most  expeditious, 
but,  unless  commenced  by  Mexico,  would  be  extremely 
hazardous  to  the  popularity  and  stability  of  the  Admini 
stration. 

By  blustering  about  our  claims,  swelling  them  to  the 
greatest  possible  point  of  inflation,  and  then  kindly  offer 
ing  to  waive  them  all  in  consideration  of  a  cession  of  Cali 
fornia,  and  throwing  in  a  douceur  of  a  few  millions,  per 
haps  it  might  be  possible  to  worry  Mexico  into  a  surren 
der  of  the  province.  But  the  result  was  doubtful.  Mexico 
had  been  very  tenacious  of  her  soil,  and  had  refused  every 
bribe  to  part  with  it.  War  was  the  alternative.  Mexico 
was  just  now  extremely  sensitive  on  the  subject  of  Texas. 
Her  Minister  at  Washington  had  demanded  his  passports 
on  the  passage  of  the  joint  resolutions.  Mr.  Shannon, 
after  irritating  the  Government  by  his  insulting  demeanor, 
had  left  Mexico,  and  all  diplomatic  intercourse  between 
the  two  countries  was  now  suspended.  Under  such  cir- 

.    *  Recollections  of  Mexico,  p.  227-232. 
10 


110  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

cumstances,  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  excite  a  war,  and 
a  war  would  give  us  California.  But  then  a  war,  to  be 
popular  or  even  to  be  endured  by  the  North,  which  would 
share  its  burdens  but  not  its  spoils,  must  be  "  a  war  by 
the  act  of  Mexico." 

It  was  obviously  most  expedient  to  try  negotiation  in 
the  first  instance,  and,  if  that  failed,  then  to  bring  on  a 
war  by  inducing  Mexico  to  strike  the  first  blow.  Such  a 
war  could  be  waged  as  one  of  defence,  not  of  aggression ; 
Mexico  would  of  course  be  immediately  humbled,  and  we 
might  dictate  the  terms  of  peace,  one  of  which  would  be 
the  surrender  of  the  coveted  province.  Subsequent  events 
have  manifested  that  the  policy  we  have  explained  was 
early  adopted  by  Mr.  Polk,  and  maintained  with  un 
wavering  pertinacity. 


REVIEW    OF    THE   MEXICAN    WAR.  Ill 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

MISSION  OF  MR.  SLIDELL  TO  MEXICO. 

BEFORE  an  attempt  could  be  made  to  acquire  California 
by  negotiation,  it  was  necessary  to  restore  the  diplomatic 
intercourse  between  the  two  countries./ For  this  purpose, 
the  American  Consul  in  Mexico,  in  compliance  with  in 
structions,  addressed  a  letter,  13th  October,  1845,  to  the 
Mexican  Secretary  of  State,  inquiring  whether  the  Mexi 
can  Government  "  would  receive  an  Envoy  from  the 
United  States,  entrusted  with  full  powers  to  adjust  all 
questions  in  dispute  between  the  two  Governments."  Two 
days  afterwards,  the  Secretary  personally  delivered  to  the 
Consul  a  reply,  stating,  "  that  although  the  Mexican  na 
tion  is  deeply  injured  by  the  United  States  through  the 
acts  committed  by  them  in  the  Department  of  Texas, 
which  belongs  to  this  nation,  my  Government  is  disposed 
to  receive  the  Commissioner  of  the  United  States  who  may 
come  to  this  country  with  full  powers  to  settle  the  present 
dispute  in  a  peaceful,  reasonable,  and  honorable  manner, 
thus  giving  a  new  proof  that  even  in  the  midst  of  its  inju 
ries  and  of  its  firm  decision  to  exact  adequate  reparation 
for  them,  it  does  not  repell  with  contumely  the  measures 
of  reason  and  peace  to  which  it  is  invited  by  its  adver 
sary."  This,  it  will  be  observed,  was  an  indirect  reply  to 
the  question  put  by  the  Consul.  Instead  of  consenting  to 
receive  an  Envoy  \vith  full  powers  to  adjust  all  questions 
in  dispute,  the  Secretary  refers  expressly  to  the  dispute 


112  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

about  Texas,  and,  with  a  show  of  condescension,  says 
that  his  Government  will  receive  the  Commissioner  who 
may  come  to  settle  the  present  dispute.  The  language 
irresistibly  refers  to  a  Commissioner  who  is  to  offer,  not 
to  demand,  reparation  for  a  certain  injury,  alleged  to 
have  been  committed  in  "  the  department  of  Texas." 

Such  is  the  fair,  and  indeed,  the  only  inference  to  be 
drawn  from  the  answer  returned  to  the  Consul.  The 
answer  was  not  improbably  dictated  by  that  species  of 
cunning  which  politicians  are  so  apt  to  mistake  for  wis 
dom.  It  may  have  been  the  design  of  the  Mexican  Gov 
ernment  to  use  language  which  would  hereafter  permit  it 
to  reject  an  American  Minister,  or  to  refuse  entering  with 
him  into  negotiations  on  other  topics  than  Texas,  should 
circumstances  render  such  a  course  expedient.  A  similar 
cunning  was  evinced  by  the  Cabinet  at  Washington  in  its 
prompt  acceptance  of  the  equivocal  reply  of  the  Mexican 
Secretary,  as  a  full  and  explicit  answer  to  the  question 
proposed  by  the  Consul.  Should  the  Envoy  be  received, 
the  affair  of  Texas  would  of  course  be  set  aside  as  res  adju- 
dicata,  while  the  alternative  of  California  or  payment  of 
claims  would  be  pressed  upon  the  feeble,  distracted  Gov 
ernment  of  Mexico.  If,  however,  the  Envoy  should  be 
rejected  on  the  ground,  that  the  Government  had  con 
sented  to  receive  only  a  Commissioner  to  treat  about 
Texas,  then  loud  complaints  of  breach  of  faith,  and  of 
insult  offered  to  the  national  honor,  would  prove  conven 
ient  incentives  to  war.  Mr.  Polk  avoiding  all  explanations, 
hurried  off  Mr.  Slidell,  of  Louisiana,  as  Minister  to  Mexico, 
within  three  weeks  of  the  meeting  of  Congress,  and  of 
course  without  waiting  for  the  confirmation  of  his  nomina 
tion  by  the  Senate.  The  Mexican  Secretary,  mindful  of 
the  rudeness  with  which  his  Government  had  been  hitherto 
treated  by  American  functionaries,  expressed  the  hope, 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  113 

that  the  person  now  to  be  sent  would  be  one  "  whose 
dignity  and  prudence,  and  moderation,  and  the  discreet 
ness  and  reasonableness  of  his  proposals,  will  tend  to 
calm,  as  much  as  possible,  the  just  irritation  of  the  Mexi 
cans."  How  far  the  gentleman  selected  by  Mr.  Polk 
endeavored  to  exercise  a  calming  influence,  will  be  seen  in 
the  sequel. 

On  the  3d  of  December,  it  was  reported  in  Mexico,  that 
the  new  Envoy  had  landed  at  Vera  Cruz.  On  this,  the 
Mexican  Secretary  sought  an  interview  with  our  Consul, 
and  begged  him  to  induce  Mr.  Slidell  to  postpone,  for  the 
present,  his  appearance  in  the  Capital,  as  he  had  not  been 
expected  before  January,  by  which  time  the  Government, 
having  collected  the  opinion  and  consent  of  the  departments, 
"  it  would  be  able  to  proceed  in  the  affair  with  more  security." 
The  existing  administration  were  charged  by  the  party  in 
opposition  with  being  too  friendly  to  the  United  States. 
il  You  know,"  remarked  the  Secretary  to  the  Consul,  "  the 
opposition  are  calling  us  traitors  for  entering  into  this  ar 
rangement  with  you;"  and  he  declared  that  the  Govern 
ment  were  afraid  that  the  appearance  of  the  Envoy  at 
this  time  would  produce  a  revolution  against  it,  which 
would  terminate  in  its  destruction.*  The  Consul  imme 
diately  advanced  to  meet  Mr.  Slidell,  and  at  Puebla  ac 
quainted  him  with  the  wishes  of  the  Government.  Far 
from  consulting  those  wishes,  he  pushed  on  to  the  Capital, 
where  he  arrived  on  Saturday,  the  6th  of  December,  and 
the  ensuing  Monday  officially  announced  his  arrival,  and 
asked  for  an  audience  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  his 
credentials  as  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Pleni 
potentiary  of  the  United  States.  This  letter  was  the  same 
day  delivered  by  the  Consul  to  the  Mexican  Secretary  of 
State,  who  assured  him  that  "  he  himself  was  well  dis- 

*  29th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  Senate  Documents,  No.  337,  p.  18. 
10* 


114  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

posed  to  have  everything  amicably  arranged,  but  that  the 
opposition  was  strong,  and  opposed  the  Government  with 
great  violence  in  this  measure,  and  that  the  Government 
had  to  proceed  with  great  caution  ;  that  nothing  positive 
could  be  done  until  the  new  Congress  met  in  January." 
On  Wednesday,  the  10th  December,  ^lidell  was  informed 
that  his  letter  must  be  submitted  to  the  Council  of  Gov 
ernment  before  a  reply  could  be  returned.  But  this  gen 
tleman  would  not  brook  delay,  and  on  Saturday  sent  the 
Consul  to  inquire  when  an  answer  would  be  given.  The 
Consul  was  told  the  letter  had  been  submitted  to  a  Com 
mittee  of  the  Council,  and  that  as  soon  as  the  Committee 
had  reported,  an  answer  would  be  sent ;  that  Mr.  Slidell 
came  as  a  resident  Minister,  and  not  a  Commissioner  to 
treat  of  Texas,  as  was  expected.  The  Secretary  appealed 
to  the  Consul,  that  he  himself  knew  "  the  critical  situa 
tion  of  the  Mexican  Government,  and  that  it  had  to  pro 
ceed  with  great  caution  and  circumspection  in  this  affair  ; 
that  the  Government  itself  was  well  disposed  to  arrange  all 
difficulties." 

These  assurances  of  the  friendly  dispositions  of  the  Gov 
ernment,  and  their  earnest  solicitation  for  a  little  delay,  till 
those  dispositions  could  be  sanctioned  and  supported  by  the 
Congress  about  to  assemble,  seemed  to  have  confirmed  Mr. 
Slidell  in  his  resolution  to  force  matters  to  extremities  j  and 
accordingly,  without  waiting  for  the  report  of  the  Commit 
tee,  he  dispatched  another  letter  on  the  ensuing  Monday  to 
the  Secretary,  requiring  to  know  when  he  might  expect  an 
answer  to  his  first,  and  declaring,  what  was  absolutely 
false,  that  "  he  is  necessarily  ignorant  of  the  reasons  which 
have  caused  so  long  a  delay."  The  "long  delay"  was 
precisely  seven  days,  and  within  that  time  he  had  been 
twice  officially  informed  through  the  Consul  of  "  the  rea 
sons"  of  the  delay.  To  this  letter  an  answer  was  returned, 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  115 

stating  that  the  delay  complained  of,  had  arisen  from  cer 
tain  difficulties  arising  from  the  nature  of  his  commission, 
compared  with  the  character  of  a  negotiator  to  treat  on 
the  subject  of  Texas,  whom  the  United  States  had  pro 
posed  to  send  to  Mexico  ;  that  the  subject  had  been  sub 
mitted  to  the  Council  of  Government,  and  that  the  result 
would  be  communicated  to  him  without  loss  of  time.  The 
next  day,  17th  December,  Mr.  Slidell  wrote  to  the  Gov 
ernment  at  Washington,  detailing  the  progress  of  the  nego 
tiation  thus  far.  It  will  be  observed,  that  up  to  this  date 
he  had  neither  been  received,  nor  refused,  and  in  this  very 
letter  he  remarks  that  "  the  impression  here  among  the 
best  informed  persons  is,  that  the  President  and  his  Cabi 
net  are  really  desirous  to  enter  frankly  upon  a  negotiation 
which  would  terminate  all  their  difficulties  with  the  United 
States."  The  day  after  this  letter  was  received  at  Wash 
ington,  peremptory  orders  were  sent  to  General  Taylor  to 
march  to  the  Rio  Grande  ;  and  this  order,  necessarily  cal 
culated  and  obviously  intended  to  bring  on  a  war,  has 
been  vindicated  on  the  ground,  that  the  Mexican  Govern 
ment  had  refused  to  treat  with  Mr.  Slidell ! 

It  was  obvious,  from  what  had  passed,  that  the  Mexican 
administration,  although  pacific  in  its  feelings,  was  not 
strong  in  the  confidence  of  the  public,  and  it  was  naturally 
inferred,  that  it  would  not  have  the  power,  even  should 
it  have  the  disposition,  to  conclude  a  treaty  for  the  dis 
memberment  of  the  Republic  by  the  cession  of  California. 
Hence  the  determination  of  Mr.  Polk  to  secure  by  the  sword 
what  he  now  saw  could  not  likely  be  acquired  by  the 
pen.  This  determination  was  moreover  strengthened  by 
the  following  information  communicated  in  the  same  letter 
from  Mr.  Slidell.  "  The  country,  torn  by  conflicting  fac 
tions,  is  in  a  state  of  perfect  anarchy,  its  finances  in  a 
condition  utterly  desperate.  I  do  not  see  where  means 


116  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

can  possibly  be  found  to  carry  on  the  government.  The 
annual  expense  of  the  army  alone  exceeds  twenty-one 
millions  of  dollars,  while  the  net  revenue  is  not  more  than 
ten  or  twelve.  While  there  is  a  prospect  of  war  with  the 
United  States,  no  capitalist  will  loan  money,  at  any  rate, 
however  onerous.  Every  branch  of  the  revenue  is  already 
pledged  in  advance.  The  troops  must  be  paid,  or  they 
will  revolt."  Q.f.  source  from  such  a  government,  it  would 
be  easy  to  wrest  California,  and  as  much  more  as  we 
might  wanty 

Mr.  Slid  ell,  having,  as  we  have  seen,  refused  to  permit 
the  Mexican  Cabinet  to  postpone  their  decision  respecting 
his  reception,  till  the  meeting  of  Congress  in  January, 
that  decision  was  communicated,  to  him  on  the  20th 
December.  He  would  be  received  as  a  Commissioner  to 
treat  of  the  questions  relating  to  Texas ;  but  until  that 
question  was  arranged,  he  could  not  be  received  as  Minis 
ter  plenipotentiary. 

Mr.  Slidell  was  of  course  very  insulting  in  his  reply. 
"  The  annals  of  no  civilized  nation  present,  in  so  short  a 
time,  so  many  wanton  attacks  upon  the  rights  of  person  and 
property  as  have  been  endured  by  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  from  the  Mexican  authorities.'"  It  is  to  be  appre 
hended  that  this  gentleman  is  either  very  imperfectly  ac 
quainted  with  the  annals  of  civilized  nations,  or  very  unscru 
pulous  in  drawing  inferences  from  them.  In  the  excitement 
of  the  moment,  and  for  the  sole  purpose  of  irritation,  he 
paraded  before  the  Mexican  Secretary,  the  millions  de 
manded  by  the  American  government  as  compensation 
for  "  the  accumulated  wrongs"  of  its  "  much-injured  citi 
zens."  The  indebtedness  of  Mexico,  according  to  Mr. 
Slidell  was  as  follows,  viz. : 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  117 

The  award  under  the  treaty  of  1839,      $2,026,139 
Claims  then  left  unsettled,  4,265,464 

Claims  subsequently  presented,  2,200,000 

8,491,603 
Credit  by  payments  made  on  the  award,*     303,919 

Balance,        $8,187,684 

We  have  heretofore  seen  that  the  total  amount  of  claims 

presented  to  the  board  of  arbitrators,  was    $11,850,578 

The  claims  afterwards  fabricated  were,  it  seems,  2,200,000 

Total  claim  from  Mexico,  $14,050,578 

It  may  here  be  edifying  to  the  reader,  to  interrupt  our 
narrative  for  a  moment,  to  advise  him  of  the  fate  of  these 
modest  demands,  under  the  especial  guardianship  of  the 
Cabinet  of  Washington.  The  Commissioners  and  umpire 
appointed  by  treaty,  after  a  judicial  investigation,  rejected 
as  spnrious,  •  or  fraudulent,  claims  to  the  amount  of 
$5,568,975.  The  unliquidated  claims,  after  deducting  the 
award  made  under  the  treaty,  amounted  to  $6,455,464. 
Of  these,  by  the  treaty  of  peace,  the  American  Govern 
ment  assumes  and  promises  to  pay  such  as  may  be  found 
valid  by  its  own  Commissioners,  not  exceeding,  however, 
in  amount  $3,250,000.  This  sum  deducted  from  the 
balance  above,  leaves  no  less  than  $3,205,464,  absolutely 
and  irrevocably  abandoned  and  repudiated  by  the  Federal 
Government,  while  the  Government  of  Mexico  is  by  treaty 

*  It  will  be  recollected  that  a  convention  concluded  by  Mr. 
Thompson,  the  interest  on  the  whole  award  was  to  be  paid  on 
the  30th  April,  1843,  and  the  principal  in  twenty  instalments, 
one  every  three  months.  The  Interest  was  punctually  paid,  as 
were  the  three  first  instalments.  The  money  for  these  payments 
was  raised  by  forced  loans,  so  anxious  was  the  Mexican  govern 
ment  to  meet  its  engagements,  notwithstanding  its  financial 
embarrassments.  The  measures  adopted  by  our  own  govern 
ment  in  reference  to  the  annexation  of  Texas,  together  with  the 
state  Of  the  Mexican  treasury,  delayed,  and  finally  prevented  th* 
other  payments. 


118  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

stipulation  released  from  all  obligation  to  pay  them  !  The 
sum  thus  abandoned,  added  to  the  sum  rejected  by  the 
arbitrators  and  umpire,  makes  the  very  respectable  amount 
of  $8,774,439.  But  this  amount  is  yet  to  be  greatly  en 
larged.  The  unliquidated  claims  are  those  preferred  at 
the  eleventh  hour,  when  the  government  was  striving  to  ex 
aggerate  the  sufferings  of  our  citizens,  for  the  purpose  of 
bullying  Mexico  out  of  territory,  and  when  it  was  hoped  that 
the  greater  the  amount  of  claims,  the  more  ready  would 
the  nation  be  for  war.  The  best  claims  were  undoubtedly 
those  first  presented.  We  here  find  that  of  those  which 
were  investigated  fice-sevenths  were  found  spurious.  On 
the  very  unreasonable  supposition  that  the  remaining 
claims  are  not  more  worthless  than  the  first,  less  than  two 
millions  will  remain  to  be  paid  for  by  the  government.  In 
all  human  probability,  one  million  will  be  more  than  suffi 
cient  to  meet  every  equitable  demand ;  and  thus  of  the 
14  millions  of  claims  about  11  will  have  proved  in  the 
end  to  be  fictitious.  Of  this  base  currency  Mr.  Slidell,  as 
we  have  seen,  took  6  millions  with  him  to  Mexico.  The  use 
he  was  to  make  of  it,  is  thus  specified  in  his  instructions : 
"  Fortunately  the  joint  resolution  of  Congress  for  an 
nexing  Texas  to  the  United  States,  presents  the  means  of 
satisfying  these  claims,  in  perfect  consistency  with  the  in 
terests  as  well  as  the  honor  of  both  republics.  It  has 
reserved  to  this  government  the  adjustment  of  all  ques 
tions  of  boundary  that  may  arise  with  other  governments. 
This  question  of  boundary  may  therefore  be  adjusted  in 
such  a  manner  between  the  two  republics  as  to  cast  the 
burden  of  debt  due  to  American  claimants  on  their  own 
Government,  while  it  will  do  no  injury  to  Mexico."* 

*  The  instructions  to  Mr.  Slidell  were  called  for  by  the  House 
of  Representatives  ;  but  the  President  refused  to  communicate 
them.  A  copy,  however,  was  surreptitiously  obtained,  and  was 
published  in  the  newspapers :  its  authenticity  has  never  been 
questioned. 


REVIEW    OF    THE  .MEXICAN    WAR.  119 

In  other  words,  Mr.  Sliclell  is  to  buy  territory,  and 
these  fraudulent  claims  are  to  form  part  of  the  considera 
tion.  He  is  authorized  to  offer  the  claims  and  $5,000,000 
for  New  Mexico,  and  the  claims  and  $25,000,000  for  both 
New  Mexico  and  California.  Thus  we  see  the  envoy  was 
sent  on  a  land-jobbing  mission,  armed  with  claims  to  the 
amount  of  eight  millions  to  bully,  and  with  twenty-five  mil 
lions  of  dollars  to  bribe,  the  Mexicans  to  dismember  their 
republic. 

^Mr.  Polk  was  determined  to  have  Mexican  territory, 
peaceably  if  he  could — forcibly  if  he  must.  If  he  could 
not  buy,  he  intended  to  conquer.  Hence,  the  moment  the 
Cabinet  learned  from  Slidell's  letter,  that  he  had  not  been 
immediately  received,  although  the  question  of  reception 
was  still  undecided,  the  army  was  ordered  to  the  Rio 
Grande. /A  few  days  after  the  decision  was  made  known 
to  Slidell,  the  Mexican  administration  was  changed,  and 
Paredes,  the  head  of  the  belligerent  party  assumed  the 
reins  of  government.  On  this  change  becoming  known  at 
Washington,  Slidell  was  ordered  to  present  his  credentials 
to  the  new  Cabinet,  and  demand  his  recognition  ;  and  this 
very  order  was  avowedly  given  to  facilitate  war.  "  On 
your  return  to  the  United  States,  energetic  measures 
against  Mexico  would  at  once  be  recommended  by  the 
President,  and  these  might  fail  to  obtain  the  support  of 
Congress,  if  it  could  be  asserted  that  the  existing  Govern 
ment  had  not  refused  to  receive  our  Minister."*  The 
demand  was  accordingly  made,  and,  as  was  foreseen,  re 
fused,  and  Mr.  Slidell  came  home. 

It  was,  it  seems,  the  intention  of  Mr.  Polk,  on  this  last 
refusal,  to  invoke  Congress  to  declare  war  (take  "  ener 
getic  measures  ")  on  the  ground  that  Mexico  by  refusing 

*  For  the  Slidell  Correspondence,  see  Senate  Documents,  29th 
Cong.,  1  Sess. 


120  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

to  receive  his  Minister  Plenipotentiary,  compelled  us  to 
seek  payment  of  our  claims  by  the  sword.  On  further  re 
flection,  this  design  was  abandoned.  A  recommendation  to 
commence  the  work  of  human  butchery  for  such  a  cause, 
*'  might  fail  to  obtain  the  support  of  Congress."  It 
was  thought  more  expedient  first  to  provoke  hostilities, 
and  then  to  call  on  Congress  to  raise  armies  to  DEFEND 
the  country.  Hence,  although  Congress  was  in  Session 
when  the  President  received  intelligence  of  Mr.  Slidell's 
final  rejection,  he  did  not  "  recommend  energetic  mea 
sures  against  Mexico,"  as  Mr.  Buchanan  said  he  would. 
A  course  had  been  taken  which  left  but  little  to  the  dis 
cretion  of  the  Legislature.  Before  we  proceed  to  describe 
that  course,  it  will  be  necessary  to  examine  the  claim  on 
which  it  was  founded,  viz.,  that  the  Rio  Grande  was  the 
western  boundary  of  the  United  States. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  121 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

WESTERN  BOUNDARY  OF  TEXAS. 

WHATEVER  may  have  been  the  original  limits  of  the 
region  which  ancient  discoverers  and  geographers  named 
Texas,  the  boundaries  of  the  revolted  Mexican  province  of 
that  name,  are  no  more  necessarily  identical  with  those 
limits,  than  are  the  boundaries  of  the  State  of  Louisiana 
with  the  limits  once  assigned  to  the  vast  territory  bearing 
the  same  name.  The  State  of  Texas  was  carved  by 
Mexico  out  of  her  domains,  and,  in  union  with  Coahuila, 
was  entitled  to  a  common  legislature,  and  a  representation 
in  the  Mexican  Congress.  In  1833,  Texas,  as  already 
mentioned,  dissolved  her  union  with  Coahuila,  but  laid  no 
claim  whatever  to  any  portion  of  the  territory  of  her  late 
associate.  The  limits  of  the  State  of  Texas  were  well 
known,  and  defined  on  maps.  Its  boundary  commenced 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Nueces,  in  Corpus  Christi  bay  ; 
and  followed  that  river  to  its  source,  thence  to  the  line  of 
New  Mexico,  -near  the  Gaudaloupe  mountains,  thence 
easterly  to  the  southern  branch  of  the  Colorado,  and  along 
that  branch  to  the  main  stream,  and  with  that  to  and 
along  the  boundary  line  of  the  United  States  to  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico.  The  countiy  between  the  Nueces  and  Rio 
Grande  was  embraced  in  Coahuila  and  the  Northern  dis 
trict  of  Taraaulipas.  A  map  of  Texas,  published  in  1831, 
gives  the  Nueces  as  its  southern  limit ;  and  in  a  descrip 
tion  of  Texas,  published  in  the  same  year,  by  a  visitant,  it 
11 


122  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

is  said  that  the  province  is  bounded  by  "  the  Nueces, 
which  divides  it  from  Tamaulipas  and  Coahuila." 

In  1833,  Benjamin  Lundy  travelled  extensively  in  Texas 
and  Mexico  ;  and  his  diary,  published  since  his  death,  con 
tains  entries  which  show  most  conclusively  what  was  then 
considered  by  the  Texans  as  the  southern  or  south 
western  boundary: — "1833,  October  llth.  We  pro 
ceeded  this  morning  over  some  delightful  plains,  on  a  good 
level  road.  At  half-past  nine,  we  reached  and  crossed 
the  river  Nueces,  which  is  the  western  limit  of  what  is 
called  Texas.  Of  course  we  are  now  in  Coahuila  " 

"February  1,  1833.  Laredo  is  a  poor-looking  place. 
It  contains  about  2200  inhabitants.  The  people  look 
like  mulattoes.  They  are  friendly  and  clever,  but  not  one 
of  them  can  speak  English.  Laredo  is  the  first  settlement 
that  I  have  seen  in  Tamaulipas."  Life  of  Benjamin 
Lundy,  pp.  57,  95. 

In  1836,  as  we  have  seen,  President  Jackson  laid  before 
Congress  the  report  of  his  special  agent,  Mr.  Moffit,  who 
was  sent  to  Texas  to  acquire  information  for  the  Govern 
ment.  The  agent  reported  that  "  the  political  limits  of 
Texas  proper  (that  is,  the  Mexican  State  of  Texas), 
before  the  last  revolution,  were  the  Nueces  river  on  the 
West"  &c. 

In  1837,  was  published  a  map  of  Texas,  "  compiled  by 
Stephen  F.  Austin,  from  surveys  by  General  Teran  of  the 
Mexican  Army  ;"  and  here  again  we  have  the  Nueces 
for  its  western  boundary.  So  late  as  June  28th,  1 845,  Mr. 
Donaldson,  American  Charge  d'  Affaires  to  Texas,  declared, 
-  in  an  official  letter,  that  Corpus  Christi  "is  the  most  western 
point  now  occupied  by  Texas."  The  Mexican  Government 
always  insisted,  that  the  territory  on  the  Rio  Grande,  had 
never  belonged  to  Texas.  The  Mexican  commissioners  ap 
pointed  to  treat  of  peace,  were,  by  instructions,  authorised 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  1'23 

to  acknowledge  the  independence  of  Texas ;  but,  to  avoid 
mistake,  it  was  added,  "  by  Texas  is  understood  the  territory 
known  by  that  name  after  the  treaties  of  1819,  when  it 
formed  part  of  the  State  of  Coahuila  and  Texas,  and  not  by 
any  means  the  territory  between  the  Nueces  and  the  Bravo, 
which  the  Congress  of  the  pretended  Texans  claimed  to 
belong  to  it."  On  the  18th  March,  1846,  Gen.  Mejia,  the 
commandant  at  Metamoras,  in  a  proclamation  announcing 
Taylor's  invasion,  to  prove  that  the  Americans  intended  to 
seize  territory  not  included  in  Texas,  remarked,  "  the 
limits  of  Texas  are  certain  and  recognised  ;  never  have 
they  extended  beyond  the  river  Nueces." 

It  is,  therefore,  beyond  all  doubt,  that  no  point  of  the 
Mexican  State  of  Texas  came  in  contact  with  the  Rio 
Grande.  In  what  manner,  then,  had  the  Republic 
of  Texas  acquired  the  immense  extent  of  territory 
she  claimed  ?  As  it  came  neither  by  purchase,  nor  by 
treaty  ;  the  title,  if  any,  must  have  been  conferred 
by  the  sword.  On  the  2d  March,  1836,  the  Mexican 
State  of  Texas,  bounded,  as  we  have  seen,  by  the  Nueces, 
declared  its  independence.  This  declaration,  while  it 
changed  the  political  relations  of  Texas,  had  no  effect  on 
its  territory.  On  the  21st  April  of  the  same  year,  the 
victory  of  San  Jacinto  secured  the  separation  of  Texas 
from  Mexico ;  but  it  was  a  victory  obtained  over  Mexican 
troops  in  the  heart  of  Texas,  not  a  conquest  of  Mexican 
territory.  It  was  a  victory,  however,  which  emboldened 
the  Texans  to  claim  for  the  purpose  of  occupying  at 
pleasure,  whatever  land  they  thought  might  be  convenient. 
We  find  from  the  official  report  of  General  Jackson's 
agent,  laid  before  Congress  by  the  President,  that  almost 
on  the  battle-field,  "  immediately  after  the  battle  of  San 
Jacinto,"  it  was  the  intention  of  the  Texan  Government 
"  to  have  claimed  from  the  Rio  Grande,  along  the  river  to 


124  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

the  30th  degree  of  latitude,  and  then  West  to  the 
Pacific"  ! !  It  was,  however,  on  reflection,  thought  this 
was  more  than  was  necessary;  and  so,  on  the  16th  De 
cember  of  the  same  year,  the  Texan  Legislature  voted 
themselves  parts  of  New  Mexico,  Coahuila,  and  Tamau- 
lipas,  about  equal  in  extent  10  the  whole  of  Texas  itself. 
This  additional  territory  is  bounded  by  the  Rio  Grande, 
and  hence,  and  in  virtue  of  this  act  of  the  16th  Decem 
ber,  1836,  when  the  Texan  Government  did  not  own  or 
possess  jurisdiction  over  one  inch  of  land  on  the  Rio 
Grande,  Mr.  Polk  ordered  General  Taylor,  15th  June, 
1845,  to  hold  himself  in  readiness  to  march  his  troops  into 
Texas,  where  "  you  will  select  and  occupy,  on  or  near  the 
Rio  Grande  del  Norte,  such  a  site  as  will  consist  with  the 
health  of  the  troops,  and  will  be  best  adapted  to  repel 
invasion,  and  to  protect  what,  in  the  event  of  annexation, 

Will  be  OUR  WESTERN  FRONTIER." 

The  act  of  the  Texan  Legislature,  of  course,  no  more 
deprived  Mexico  of  her  right  to  Santa  Fe,  than  it  could 
have  deprived  us  of  our  right  to  Oregon.  Mr.  Polk,  in 
claiming  thus  early  the  Rio  Grande  as  the  western  boun 
dary  of  the  United  States,  and  ordering  a  military  force 
to  take  possession  of  it,  acted  in  his  capacity  of  chief 
magistrate,  and  either  with  or  without  authority.  As  the 
claim  he  advanced  to  this  boundary,  and  his  measures  to 
enforce  that  claim,  led  to  hostilities,  it  is  important 
to  inquire  how  far  this  gentleman  was  authorised  by  the 
laws  of  his  country,  to  involve  it  in  the  calamity  of  war. 

It  was  only  in  the  event  of  annexation,  that  Mr.  Polk 
claimed  the  Rio  Grande  as  the  western  boundary  of  the 
United  States.  Hence  it  becomes  important  to  ascertain, 
if  the  act  of  annexation  did  indeed  transfer  to  the  United 
States  the  territories  voted  to  itself  by  the  Republic  of 
Texas.  The  Tyler  treaty  of  annexation  was  silent  as  to 


REVIEW    OP    THE    MEXICAN    WAP.  125 

boundaries ;  and  why  ?  Let  Mr.  Calhoun,  who  negotiated 
it,  answer.  No  sooner  was  the  treaty  signed,  than  the 
Secretary  officially  informed  the  Mexican  Government, 
that  the  United  States  had  "  taken  every  precaution  to 
make  the  terms  of  the  treaty  as  little  objectionable  to 
Mexico  as  possible  ;  and,  among  others,  has  left  the  boun 
dary  of  Texas  without  specification,  so  that  what  the  line 
of  boundary  should  be  might  be  an  open  question,  to  be 
fairly  and  fully  discussed  and  settled  according  to  the 
rights  of  each." 

Notwithstanding  this  letter,  it  was  objected  to  the 
treaty  in  the  Senate,  that  the  very  absence  of  all  specifi 
cation  of  boundary  might  be  regarded  as  an  implied  sanc 
tion  of  the  ridiculous  pretensions  of  Texas.  Mr.  Benton 
who,  as  we  have  seen,  was  one  of  the  earliest  advocates 
of  annexation,  indignantly  rejected  the  idea,  that  Texas 
could  confer  upon  the  United  States  title  to  territory  she 
never  owned.  In  his  speech  against  the  ratification  of 
the  treaty,  he  used  the  following  language  :  "  I  wash  my 
hands  of  all  attempts  to  dismember  the  Mexican  Repub 
lic  by  seizing  her  dominions  in  New  Mexico,  Chihuahua, 
Coahuila,  and  Tamaulipas.  The  treaty,  in  all  that  relates 
to  the  boundary  of  the  Rio  Grande,  is  an  act  of  unpa 
ralleled  outrage  on  Mexico.  It  is  the  seizure  of  two  thou 
sand  miles  of  her  territory,  without  a  word  of  explanation 
with  her,  by  virtue  of  a  treaty  with  Texas  to  which  she 
is  no  party.  By  this  declaration,  the  thirty  thousand 
Mexicans  in  the  left  half  of  the  valley  of  the  Rio  del 
Norte  are  our  citizens,  and  standing,  in  the  language  of 
the  President's  Message,  in  a  hostile  attitude  towards  us, 
and  subject  to  be  repelled  as  invaders.  Taos,  the  seat jaf 
the  Custom-house,  where  our  caravans  enter  their  goods, 
is  ours ;  Santa  Fe  the  capital  of  New  Mexico  is  ours— 
Governor  Armijo  is  our  Governor,  and  subject  to  be  tried 


126  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

for  treason,  if  he  does  not  submit  to  us  ;  twenty  Mexican 
towns  and  villages,*  are  ours,  and  their  peaceful  inhabi 
tants  cultivating  their  fields  and  tending  their  flocks,  are 
suddenly  converted  by  a  stroke  of  the  President's  pen 
into  American  citizens  or  American  rebels. 

"  I  therefore  propose,  as  an  additional  resolution,  ap 
plicable  to  the  Rio  del  Norte  boundary  only,  the  one 
which  I  will  read,  and  send  to  the  Secretary's  table,  and 
one  on  which  I  shall  at  the  proper  time  ask  the  vote  of 
the  Senate.  This  is  the  resolution  : 

"  Resolved,  that  the  incorporation  of  the  left  bank  of 
the  Rio  del  Norte  into  the  American  Union,  by  virtue  of 
a  treaty  with  Texas,  comprehending,  as  the  said  incorpor 
ation  would  do,  a  part  of  the  Mexican  departments  of 
New  Mexico,  Chihuahua,  Coahuila,  and  Tamaulipas,  would 
be  an  act  of  aggression  on  Mexico,  for  all  the  consequences 
of  which  the  United  States  would  stand  responsible." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  the  resolution  would  have  passed, 
had  not  the  rejection  of  the  treaty  prevented  a  vote 
being  taken.  Mr.  Silas  Wright,  a  distinguished  democratic 
Senator  from  New  York,  afterwards  vindicating  his  vote 
against  the  treaty,  asserted,  "  I  believed  that  the  treaty, 
from  the  boundaries  that  must  be  implied  from  it,  if 
Mexico  would  not  treat  with  us,  embraced  a  country  to 
which  Texas  had  no  claim,  over  which  she  had  never  as 
serted  jurisdiction,  and  which  she  had  no  right  to  cede." 

*  The  following  arc  some  of  the  Mexican  towns,  and  settle 
ments  along  the  east  border  of  the  ilio  (Jrande,  which  according 
to  Mr.  Polk,  are  on  our  side  "  the  boundary  line  of  the  United 
States,"  but  in  which,  at,  the  time  of  the  invasion,  was  not  to  be 
found  one  single  magistrate  holding  a  commission  either  from 
the  Federal  Government,  or  the  State  of  Texas — viz  Taos, 
Peuris,  Grampa,  Embudo,  Xamba,  San  Juan,  Vitior,  San  Domin 
go,  San  Branilla,  San  Aux,  San  Dios,  Albuquerque,  San  Fer 
nanda,  Valencia,  Fonclara,  Las  Nutrias,  Alamillo,  San  Pasqual, 
Christobal,  Las  Pepuallas,  Presidio,  Dolores,  Loredo,  and  Point 
Isabel. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  127 

It  thus  appears  that,  in  1844,  Messrs.  Tyler  and  Calhoun 
admitted  the  boundary  of  the  Rio  Grande  to  be  an  open 
question  ;  while  Messrs.  Wright  and  Benton,  and  probably 
a,  great  majority  of  the  Senate,  disclaimed  and  repudiated 
all  right  whatever  to  what  Mr.  Polk  terms  "our  western 
frontier." 

On  the  3rd  March,  1845,  Congress  passed  an  act  al 
lowing  drawback  on  goods  exported  to  "Santa  F6  in 
Mexico,'1'  But  according  to  the  Texan  Act  of  16th  De 
cember,  1836,  Santa  Fe  was  in  the  Republic  of  Texas- 
Here,  then,  we  have,  on  the  part  of  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  a  distinct  repudiation  of  the  paper  bound 
aries  set  up  by  the  victors  at  San  Jacinto.  We  had, 
moreover,  a  Consul  at  Santa,  Fe",  recognized  not  by  the 
Texan  but  the  Mexican  Government.  Yet  it  was  after 
this  act  was  passed,  and  before  we  had  acquired  a  title  to 
a  foot  of  Texan  land,  that  Mr.  Polk  took  measures  to 
seize  by  force  of  arms  the  territory  on  the  Rio  Grande,  in 
case  of  annexation. 

Falsehood  is  ever  inconsistent  with  itself.  Mr.  Polk,  in 
his  Message,  8th  December,  1846,  speaking  of  the  actual 
separation  of  Texas  from  Mexico  previous  to  annexation, 
uses  the  expression,  "  No  hostile  foot  finding  rest  within. 
her  territory  for  six  or  seven  years."  Yet  all  this  time, 
Mexican  villages  east  of  the  Rio  Grande  were  governed 
by  Mexican  laws  and  magistrates,  and  the  Secretary-at- 
War,  in  ordering  General  Taylor  to  advance  to  that  river, 
warns  him  of  the  Mexican  military  establishments  on  this 
side  of  it.  If  no  hostile  foot  had  found  rest  in  Texan  ter 
ritory  for  six  or  seven  years,  then  most  certainly  the  Rio 
Grande  territory  was  not  in  Texas.  Mr.  Polk,  moreover, 
tells  Congress  that,  in  December,  1836,  a  Texan  law  de 
clared  "  the  Rio  Grande  from  its  mouth  to  its  source  to 
be  their  boundary,  and  by  the  said  act  they  extended 


128  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

their  civil  and  political  jurisdiction  over  the  country  up  to 
that  boundary  ;"  and  yet  in  this  very  same  Message  he 
announces  to  Congress  that,  "  by  rapid  movements  the 
province  of  New  Mexico,  with  Santa  Fe,  its  capital,  has 
been  captured  without  bloodshed."  But  Santa  Fe  was  on 
the  East  of  the  Rio  Grande,  and  far  below  its  source,  and 
therefore,  according  to  the  President,  included  within  the 
Territory  of  Texas.  And  why  was  it  captured  if  no  hos 
tile  foot  rested  in  it  ? 

Let  us  now  inquire  with  what  boundaries  we  received 
Texas.  The  terms  of  the  joint  resolutions  were,  "  Con 
gress  doth  consent  that  the  territory  properly  included 
ivithin  and  rightfully  belonging  to  the  Republic  of  Texas, 
may  be  erected  into  a  new  State  to  be  called  the  State  of 
Texas,  &c. ;  "  said  State  to  be  formed,  subject  to  the  ad 
justment  by  this  Government  of  all  questions  of  boundaries 
that  may  arise  with  other  governments.'"  Here  is  no  sanc 
tion  of  the  act  of  16th  December,  1836,  no  claim  of  title 
founded  on  it,  but  an  indirect  admission  that  Texas  has 
made  unfounded  claims,  and  we  mean  to  take  not  what 
she  claims,  but  what  she  rightfully  owns ;  and  this  we 
will  settle  with  Mexico  of  course  by  treaty,  the  President 
and  Senate  being  "  this  Government"  mentioned  in  the 
resolution.  The  resolutions  embracing  this  language  were 
officially  approved  of  by  Mr.  Polk,  immediately  on  his 
accession  to  the  Presidency  ;  and  yet,  notwithstanding 
they  thus  rejected  all  title  to  territory  founded  on  Texan 
claims,  reserving  to  the  President  and  Senate  the  decision 
of  what  should  be  <f  our  Western  frontier,"  Mr.  Polk  re 
solved  not  merely  to  decide  that  question  of  his  own  will 
and  pleasure,  but  to  maintain  his  decision  at  the  point  of 
the  bayonet,  without  any  consultation  with  the  Senate, 
and  without  waiting  to  discuss  it  with  Mexico.  For  many 
years  a  question  existed  between  Great  Britain  and  the 


REVIEW    OF     THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  129 

United  States,  respecting  the  North-eastern  boundary  of 
the  latter.  No  President  assumed  the  responsibility  of 
plunging  the  country  into  war  by  taking  military  posses 
sion  of  the  disputed  territory,  and  the  question  was  finally 
settled  by  treaty.  Mr.  Polk,  on  his  accession  to  the 
Presidency,  found  another  and  most  important  question  of 
boundary  pending  between  the  same  parties  respecting 
the  territory  of  Oregon.  He  expressed,  in  his  inaugural 
address,  the  opinion,  that  the  title  of  the  United  States  to 
the  whole  of  that  vast  region  up  to  54°  40'  of  North 
latitude,  was  clear  and  unquestionable ;  and  he  refused 
all  offers  of  compromise,  and  all  reference  of  the  question 
to  arbitration.  Yet  he  sent  no  army  to  defend  what  he 
declared  to  be  our  Northern  frontier.  On  the  contrary, 
he  entered  into  negotiation  with  Great  Britain,  and  sur 
rendered  five  degrees  and  forty  minutes  of  territory,  which 
he  had  himself  asserted  belonged  to  us  "  by  irrefragable 
facts  and  arguments,"  by  a  treaty  which  General  Cass 
declared  in  the  Senate  was  "  prepared  by  the  British 
Government,"  and  which  was  ratified  by  the  Senate  with 
out  "  the  crossing  of  a  t,  or  the  dotting  of  an  i,  untouched 
and  unchanged."  Great  Britain  was  a  powerful  nation, 
and  Mexico  a  feeble  one ;  the  territory  surrendered  was 
in  the  North,  and  would  for  ever  be  free — that  which  was 
seized  was  in  the  South,  and  was  intended  to  be  for  ever 
a  slave  region. 


130  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

COMMENCEMENT    OP   WAR    AGAINST    MEXICO    BY    GENERAL 
TAYLOR. 

MR.  Polk,  having  decided  on  war,  in  case  California  could 
not  be  had  by  negotiation,  commenced  his  preparations  for 
waging  it,  even  before  the  annexation  with  Texas  was  con 
summated.  On  the  8th  July,  1845,  the  Secretary  of  Wai- 
wrote  to  Taylor,  "  This  department  is  informed,  that 
Mexico  has  some  militarv^stablishments  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Rio  Grande,  which  are,  and  for  some  time  past 
have  been,  in  the  actual  occupation  of  her  troops.  In 
carrying  out  the  instructions  heretofore  received,  you  will 
be  careful  to  avoid  any  acts  of  aggression,  unless  a  state 
of  war  should  exist.  The  Mexican  forces  at  the  posts  in 
their  possession,  and  which  have  been  so,  will  not  be  dis 
turbed  so  long  as  the  relations  of  peace  between  the  Uni 
ted  States  and  Mexico  continue."  An  invading  army  is 
sent  into  a  territory  in  military  possession  of  Mexico  :  ter 
ritory  which  had  never  been  out  of  her  possession  since  its 
conquest  from  the  aborigines.  But  no  attack  is  to  be 
made  on  the  Mexican  forts  ;  let  the  first  blow  be  struck 
by  the  Mexicans,  and  then  the  war  will  bo  one  of  defence, 
and  therefore  more  popular.  On  the  Oth  August,  Taylor 
is  informed  that  the  seventh  regiment  of  infantry  and  three 
companies  of  dragoons  have  been  ordered  to  Texas,  and 
10,000  muskets,  and  1,000  rifles.  A  few  days  after  he  is 
told,  he  will  have  "a  force  of  four  thousand  men  of  the 
regular  army."  In  addition  to  these  regulars,  requisitions 
were  made  upon  the  Governors  of  Alabama,  Mississippi, 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  131 

Louisiana,  Tennessee,  and  Kentucky,  to  furnish  Taylor 
with  as  many  volunteers  as  he  might  require.  The  Sec 
retary  of  War,  in  thus  calling  for  an  indefinite  number  of 
troops,  makes  the  following  candid  and  extraordinary  con 
fession  :  "  It  is  proper  to  observe,  that  the  emergency  ren 
dering  such  assistance  from  the  militia  of  your  State  neces 
sary,  does  not  appear  to  have  been  foreseen,  by  Congress, 
and  consequently  no  appropriation  was  made  for  paying 
them."  VTruly  indeed  Congress  had  not  foreseen  that  Mr. 
Polk  meant  to  invade  Mexico,  and  had  made  no  provision 
for  the  intended  war.  / 

The  President  having  thus  made,  on  his  own  responsi 
bility,  ample  provision  for  the  commencement  of  the  war,  in 
structed  Taylor  how  he  might  bring  it  on  in  case  Mexico  re 
mained  passive.  On  the  30th  August,  he  was  told,  "  The 
assembling  a  large  Mexican  army  on  the  borders  of  Texas, 
and  crossing  the  Rio  Grande  with  a  considerable  force,  will 
be  regarded  by  the  Executive  as  an  invasion  of  the  United 
States  (/)  and  the  commencement  of  hostilities.  An  at 
tempt  to  cross  the  river  with  such  a  force  will  also  be  con 
sidered  in  the  same  light.  In  case  of  war,  either  declared 
or  made  manifest  by  hostile  acts,  your  main  object  will  be 
the  protection  of  Texas  ;  but  the  pursuit  of  this  object  will 
not  necessarily  confine  your  action  within  the  territory  of 
Texas.  Mexico  having  thus  commenced  hostilities,  you 
may  in  your  discretion  cross  the  Rio  Grande,  disperse  or 
capture  the  forces  assembled  to  invade  Texas,  defeat  the 
junction  of  troops  uniting  for  that  purpose,  drive  them 
from  their  positions  on  either  side  of  the  river,  and,  if 
deemed  practicable  and  expedient,  take  and  hold  posses 
sion  of  Metamoras  and  other  places  in  the  country." 

Thus  we  find  the  President  in  time  of  peace,  and  without 
the  knowledge  or  expectation  of  Congress,  ordering  the 
invasion  of  a  territory  in  the  actual  and  exclusive  posses- 


132  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

sion  of  Mexico,  a  territory  having  Mexican  villages  under 
the  authority  of  Mexican  magistrates,  a  port  of  entry, 
a  custom-house,  and  various  "  military  establishments." 
Should  the  Mexicans,  prompted  by  the  natural  dictates 
of  patriotism  and  self-defence,  assemble  a  body  of  troops 
which  in  General  Taylor's  discretion  might  be  deemed 
"large,"  and  attempt  to  cross  the  river  to  reinforce  their 
military  establishments,  to  protect  their  villages,  to  secure 
the  collection  of  their  customs,  to  watch  the  motions  of  the 
invading  army,  then  General  Taylor  is  to  regard  their 
conduct  as  AN  INVASION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  and  is 
to  begin  a  war  of  defence,  although  not  a  Mexican  shot 
has  been  fired,  and  is  to  capture  the  city  of  Metamoras, 
and  to  carry  the  war  into  the  interior  of -Mexico.* 

So  confident  was  Mr.  Polk  of  the  success  of  his  plan, 
that,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Governors  of  no  less  than  five 
States  were  ordered  to  supply  Taylor  with  an  unlimited 
number  of  troops  to  commence  the  intended  campaign 
with  eclat. 

The  pretended  apology  for  this  most  unwarrantable  as 
sumption  of  power  in  thus  plunging  the  country  into  an 
unexpected,  unprovoked,  and  unnecessary  war,  was  that 
Texas  was  in  danger.  None  were  more  sensible  than  the 
administration  of  the  utter  inability  of  Mexico  to  wage  an 
offensive  war  against  the  United  States.  Since  the  com 
mencement  of  the  Texan  rebellion,  the  Mexican  Govern 
ment  had  been  uttering  inflated  threats  against  its  revolted 
province,  yet  no  hostile  force  had  entered  it  since  the  di- 

*  The  following  from  the  Union  of  the  llth  Sept.,  1845,  the 
official  paper  of  the  Administration,  shows  how  well  the  editor 
understood  the  designs  of  his  employers,  "  If  Arista  (the  Mexican 
General  at  Metamoras),  dares  to  carry  out  his  braggart  threats, 
if  he  ventures  to  cross  the  Rio  Grande  with  reinforcements  tn  any 
little  armed  posts,  which  the  Mexicans  may  occupy  on  the  east 
side  of  the  river,  General  Taylor  will  attempt  to  prevent  him — 
blood  inupt  flow — war  WILL 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  133 

sastrous  conflict  at  San  Jacinto.  A  vast  desert  extended 
between  the  Nueces  and  the  Rio  Grande ;  and  in  the  dis 
trict  along  the  east  of  that  river  not  one  Texan  dwelling 
was  to  be  found.  The  population  of  the  country  invaded 
by  Taylor,  was  exclusively  Mexican.  There  was  no  hu 
man  probability  that  Mexico,  feeble,  disorganized,  .and 
distracted  as  she  was,  would  dare  to  invade  Texas,  now 
protected  by  the  whole  power  of  the  American  con 
federacy,  when  nine  years  before  a  handful  of  adventurers 
had  destroyed  her  army,  and  taken  captive  her  President. 
The  pretence  was  no  less  absurd  than  false  ;  and,  had 
danger  been  indeed  apprehended,  there  was  no  necessity 
to  send  an  anny  200  miles  in  advance  of  the  Texan  set 
tlements,  when  no  hostile  movements  of  the  Mexicans  in 
dicated  an  intention  to  cross  the  intervening  desert,  and 
enter  Texas.  The  falsity  of  the  pretence  is  evinced  by  a 
remarkable  confession  made  by  the  government  so  late  as 
16th  Oct.,  1845.  The  Secretary  of  War,  writing  to  Tay 
lor,  says,  "  The  information  we  have,  renders  it  probable 
that  no  serious  attempts  will  at  present  be  made  by 
Mexico  to  invade  Texas,  although  she  continues  to 
threaten  incursions."*  General  Taylor,  instead  of  pro 
ceeding  immediately  to  the  Rio  Grande  agreeably  to  his 
instructions,  stopped  at  Corpus  Christi  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Nueces,  the  extreme  point  of  Texas  proper,  and  Oct.  4th, 
1845,  wrote  to  the  Secretary,  "Mexico  having  as  yet 
made  no  positive  declaration  of  war,  or  committed  any 
overt  act  of  hostilities,  I  do  not  feel  at  liberty  under  my 
instructions,  particularly  those  of  July  8th,  to  make  a  for 
ward  movement  to  the  Rio  Grande  without  authority  from 
the  war  department."  He  alluded  to  his  instructions  to 
take  a  position  on  the  Rio  Grande  to  repel  invasion,  but 

*  For  correspondence,  &c.,  with  Taylor,  see  Senate   Doc., 
29th  Cong.,  1st  Sees. 

12 


134  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

to  avoid  acts  of  aggression  unless  an  actual  state  of  war 
existed.  As  there  was  no  invasion  to  repel,  and  as  his 
march  into  the  Mexican  territory  in  time  of  peace  would 
be  an  act  of  aggression,  he  prudently  waited  for  further 
orders. 

Under  these  circumstances,  and  considering  that  all  was 
now  ready  for  commencing  hostilities,  the  administration 
deemed  it  on  the  whole  most  prudent  to  wait  the  result 
of  the  proposed  negotiation  to  be  opened  at  Mexico,  mea 
sures  for  that  purpose  having  already  been  taken.  If  our 
claims  could  be  bartered  for  California,  it  would  not  be 
necessary  to  compel  Taylor  to  march  to  the  Rio  Grande. 
We  have  seen  that  the  order  to  Taylor  to  invade  the  terri 
tory  of  the  Rio  Grande,  the  requisitions  upon  five  States 
for  troops,  and  the  instructions  to  Taylor  how  and  on  what 
pretences  to  commence  the  war,  and  to  capture  Metamo- 
ras,  &c.,  were  all  precious  to  the  appointment  of  Slidell ; 
and  therefore,  that  the  actual  march  to  the  Rio  Grande 
and  the  war  that  ensued,  were  only  the  resumption  of  a 
policy  that  had  merely  been  suspended  to  allow  time  to 
ascertain  whether  California  could  possibly  be  obtained  by 
negotiation.  The  suspension,  however,  was  brief.  We 
have  already  noticed  the  avowal  of  Mr.  Buchanan,  Secre 
tary  of  State,  that  in  case  of  the  refusal  of  Mexico  to  re 
ceive  Mr.  Slidell,  "  nothing  can  remain  but  to  take  the 
redress  of  the  injuries  of  our  citizens,  and  the  insults  to 
to  our  Government,  into  our  own  hands,"  in  other  words, 
to  go  to  war.  On  the  12th  January,  1846,  the  first 
dispatch  was  received  from  Slidell,  from  which  it  ap 
peared  probable  that,  although  the  Government  had  not 
yet  refused  to  receive  him,  it  would  enter  into  no  negoti 
ation  with  him,  except  in  reference  to  Texas.  Of  course 
there  was  no  hope  of  a  cession  of  California ;  and  the  very 
next  day  peremptory  orders  were  sent  to  Taylor  to  ad- 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  135 

vance  to  the  Rio  Grande ;  an  order  unquestionably  dic 
tated  by  the  avowed  determination  we  have  mentioned. 

It  seems,  therefore,  that  the  Government  resolved  on 
war  professedly  for  two  causes ;  1st,  The  injuries  to  our 
citizens,  all  of  which  were  estimated  in  dollars  and  cents. 
To  collect  a  few  millions  of  alleged  debts,  it  acknowledges 
it  willingness  to  commence  the  work  of  human  slaughter, 
and  that,  too,  at  the  very  moment  when  no  less  than  six 
States  of  the  Union  were  indebted  in  the  prodigious 
amount  of  $52,000,000,  of  which  they  paid  neither  prin 
cipal  or  interest.  The  very  idea  of  collecting  two  or  three 
millions  of  dollars  by  spending  a  hundred  or  more  in  mur 
dering  the  debtors,  is  so  utterly  absurd  and  diabolical, 
that  we  must  be  excused  from  believing  Mr.  Buchanan 
when  he  pretends  that  such  was  the  intention  of  the  Cabi 
net.  The  second  cause  assigned  is  little  less  credible. 
The  insults  to  our  Government  which  were  to  be  revenged 
by  killing  Mexicans,  are  the  imputations  of  bad  faith  cast 
by  their  rulers  upon  the  Government  at  Washington  for 
its  conduct  towards  Texas ;  imputations  which,  however 
disagreeable,  were  unhappily  supported  by  facts,  and 
which  had  already  been  most  abundantly  repaid  with  in 
sult  and  injury.  The  acquisition  of  California,  and  the 
extension  of  slavery,  afforded  motives  for  war  which  the 
pretended  causes  assigned  by  Mr.  Buchanan  failed  to 
supply. 

It  was  not  sufficient  that  Taylor  should  march  to  the 
Rio  Grande ;  the  Secretary  tells  him,  "  points  opposite 
Metamoras  and  Mier,  and  the  vicinity  of  Laredo,  are  sug 
gested  for  your  consideration."  The  object  was  to  pro 
voke  a  collision,  and,  if  possible,  induce  the  Mexicans  to 
attack  our  forces  ;  and  hence  the  American  standard  was 
to  be  insultingly  displayed  in  the  immediate  vicinity  and 
in  full  view  of  these  Mexican  towns.  It  would  be  hard 


136  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR, 

Indeed  if  our  troops,  stationed  in  the  suburbs  of  these 
three  places,  did  not  bring  on  a  quarrel,  and  thus  enable 
Mr.  Polk  to  announce  to  Congress  that  "  War  existed  by 
the  act  of  Mexico." 

General  Taylor,  in  pursuance  of  orders,  commenced  his 
march  into  the  Mexican  territory.  Not  an  American,  not 
a  Texan  was  to  be  found  South  of  Corpus  Christi.  After 
proceeding  through  the  desert  about  one  hundred  miles, 
he  met  "  small  armed  parties  of  Mexicans  who  seemed 
disposed  to  avoid  us." 

On  approaching  Point  Isabel,  a  Mexican  settlement,  and 
the  site  of  a  Mexican  Custom  House,  he  found  the  build 
ings  in  flames.  At  the  same  time  he  received  a  protest 
from  the  "  Prefect  of  the  Northern  District  of  Tamaulipas'' 
against  his  invasion  of  a  territory  "  which  had  never  be 
longed  to  the  Colony  seized  upon"  (Texas),  an  invasion  of 
which  no  notice  had  been  given  to  the  Government  of 
Mexico,  and  for  which  no  reason  had  been  assigned.  The 
protest  concluded  with  assuring  Taylor  that,  so  long  as 
his  army  "  shall  remain  in  the  terrritory  of  Tamaulipas, 
the  inhabitants  must,  whatever  professions  of  peace  you 
may  employ,  regard  you  as  openly  committing  hostilities, 
and  for  the  melancholy  consequences  of  these  they  who 
have  been  the  invaders  must  be  answerable  in  the  view 
of  the  whole  world."  The  inhabitants  of  Point  Isabel 
fled  before  the  invaders,  and  sought  refuge  in  Metamoras. 
Taylor  announced  to  his  Government,  that  he  considered 
the  conflagration  of  Point  Isabel  "  as  a  decided  evidence  of 
hostility.'"  To  understand  the  purport  of  this  declaration 
of  opinion,  it  must  be  recollected  that  in  his  orders  of  the 
13th  January,  1846,  he  was  instructed  that,  should  Mexi 
co  assume  the  character  of  an  enemy  "  by  a  declaration 
of  war,  or  any  open  act  of  hostility  towards  us,  you  will 
not  act  Merely  on  the  defensive." 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  137 

On  the  28th  March,  Taylor,  without  having  met  with 
the  slightest  opposition,  planted  his  standard  on  the  bank 
of  the  Rio  Grande.  On  the  6th  April  he  wrote  home 
that  the  guns  of  his  battery  "  bear  directly  upon  the  pub 
lic  square  of  Metamoras,  arid  within  good  range  for  demo 
lishing  the  town  ;  their  object  cannot  be  mistaken  by  the 
enemy  ;"  and  he  tells  the  Secretary  of  War,  "the  Mexi 
cans  still  retain  a  hostile  attitude,  and  have  thrown  up 
some  works  to  prevent  us  from  crossing  the  river."*  No 
declaration  of  war  had  been  issued  on  either  side,  and  the 

*  During  the  progress  of  this  invasion,  and  while  the  army 
was  before  Metamorns,  various  letters  from  the  officers  found 
their  way  into  the  public  journals.  A  few  extracts  from  these 
will  be  found  instructive.  "  West  of  the  Nueces  the  people  are 
all  Spaniards.  The  country  is  uninhabitable  excepting  the 
valley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  and  that  contains  a  pretty  dense  popu 
lation,  and  in  no  part  of  the  country  are  the  people  more  loyal 
to  the  Mexican  Government." 

"  Camp  opposite  Metamoras,  Apnl  19/A,  1846.  Our  situation  here 
is  an  extraordinary  one.  Eight  in  the  enemy's  country,  and  actu 
ally  occupying  their  corn  and  cotton  fields,  the  people  of  the 
soil  leaving  their  homes,  and  we  with  a  small  handful  of  men 
marching,  with  colors  flying,  and  drums  beating,  right  under 
the  very  guns  of  one  of  their  principal  cities,  displaying  the  star- 
spangled  banner  as  if  in  defiance  under  their  very  noge,  and 
they  with  an  army  twice  our  size  at  least,  sit  quietly  down,  and 
make  not  the  least  resistance,  not  the  least  effort  to  drive  the 
invaders  off.  There  is  no  parallel  to  it."  Capt.  Henry,  the 
writer  of  this  letter,  seems  not  to  have  been  aware  that  he  was 
in  the  United  States,  and  that  the  people  of  the  soil  were  his  fel 
low-citizens. 

Another  officer  writes,  21st  April,  "  Our  flag  waves  over  the 
•waters  of  the  Rio  Grande,  and  we  have  a  battery  of  eighteen- 
pounders  that  can  spot  anything  in  Metamoras."  To  under 
stand  this  last  operation,  it  must  be  recollected,  that  the  city 
was  on  one  bank,  and  the  American  fort  on  the  other.  Cap 
tain  Henry,  of  the  U.  S.  Army,  in  his  "  Campaign  Sketches  of 
the  War  in  Mexico,"  says,  that  on  the  evening  of  the  day  the 
army  readied  the  river  opposite  to  Metamoras,  "  I  walked  down 
to  the  bank,  and  found  it  lined  with  citizens  (on  the  other  side), 
attracted,  no  doubt,  by  the  arrival  of  so  many  strangers.  Strol 
ling  along,  and  seeing  some  genteel-looking  young  ladies  upon  the 
bank,  I  took  off  my  hat,  and  saluted  them  with  '  Buena  Senoritas.' 
The  river  at  this  point  was  so  narrow,  that  I  could  have  thrown  a 
stone  across  it." — p.  G8. 

12* 


}38  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

Mexicans,  although  they  saw  their  country  invaded,  and  a 
battery  planted  within  good  range  for  demolishing  the 
principal  city  in  that  part  of  their  Republic,  had  not  fired 
a  musket,  yet  General  Taylor  chooses  to  style  them  "  the 
enemy,"  and  asserts  that  they  retain  a  hostile  attitude. 

Five  days  after  our  arms  had  thus  threatened  and  in 
sulted  Metamoras,  General  Ampudia  reached  the  city 
with  reinforcements,  and  immediately  addressed  a  letter 
to  the  American  General,  complaining  that  his  advance  to 
the  Rio  Grande  had  "  net  only  insulted  but  exasperated 
the  Mexican  nation,"  and  requiring  him  Avithin  twenty- 
four  hours  to  remove  his  camp,  and  retire  beyond  the 
Nueces  ;  adding,  "  If  you  insist  on  remaining  upon  the 
soil  of  the  department  of  Tamaulipas,  it  will  clearly  result 
that  arms,  and  arms  alone,  must  decide  the  question." 
As  Taylor  had  been  sent  to  Tamaulipas  expressly  to  pro 
duce  this  very  result,  he  took  occasion  of  this  letter  to 
hasten  the  desired  crisis.  The  Mexicans  had  shown  a  for 
bearance  amounting  almost  to  pusillanimity.  Should  this 
forbearance  continue,  and  the  enemy  remain  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river,  how  could  the  \var  be  commenced  ?  He 
must  wait  for  some  pretext  for  crossing  the  river  to  attack 
them.  The  fact  that  the  inhabitants  of  Point  Isabel  had 
fired  their  own  houses,  would  hardly  justify  him  in  bom 
barding  Metamoras.  He  chose  therefore  to  consider  Am- 
pudia's  notice  to  quit  as  an  hostile  act,  but  not  one  to  be 
resented  with  powder  and  shot.  He  therefore  resorted 
to  an  expedient  which  would  compel  Ampudia  to  fire 
the  first  shot,  and  thus,  according  to  the  wishes  of  the 
Cabinet,  to  make  the  intended  \var,  one  of  defence,  "a 
war  by  the  act  of  Mexico."  There  were  two  American 
|  armed  vessels  at  Brazos  Santiago,  and  these  he  ordered  to 
blockade  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande,  thus  cutting  off  all 
commuication  with  Metamoras  by  sea.  Soon  after  a  vo.s- 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  139 

sel  with  a  cargo  of  grain  for  the  city,  was  prevented  by 
the  squadron  from  entering  the  river,  and  in  consequence 
of  the  alarm  excited  by  the  blockade,  flour  rose,  as  stated 
in  the  papers,  to  forty  dollars  a  barrel.  Taylor,  with  a 
frankness  bordering  on  indiscretion,  thus  avows  his  reason 
for  ordering  the  blockade :  "  It  will  at  any  rate  compel 
the  Mexicans  to  withdraw  their  army  from  Metamoras 
where  it  cannot  be  sustained,  or  to  assume  the  offensive  on 
this  side  of  the  river."* 

Yet  in  this  very  letter  he  reports  that  since  his  last 
of  the  15th,  "the  relations  between  me  and  the  Mexicans 
have  not  changed,"  that  is,  the  Mexicans  had  not  com 
menced  hostilities.  Notwithstanding  the  blockade,  the 
Mexicans  did  not  attack  Taylor ;  whereupon  he  deter 
mined,  it  seems,  not  to  remain  any  longer  idle.  Accord 
ingly,  the  very  day  on  which  he  informs  the  Secretary 
that  the  relations  between  himself  and  the  Mexicans  re 
mained  the  same,  and  when  not  a  single  shot  had  been 
fired  by  the  latter,  he  reports,  "  with  a  view  to  check  the 
depredations  of  small  parties  of  the  enemy  on  this  side  of 
the  river,  Lieutenants  Dobbins  of  the  3d  Infantry,  and 
Porter,  4th  Infantry,  were  authorized  by  me  a  few  days 
since  to  scour  the  country  for  some  miles  with  a  select 
party  of  men,  and  capture  and  destroy  any  such  parties 
that  they  might  meet.  It  appears  they  separated,  and 
that  Lieutenant  Porter  at  the  head  of  his  own  detachment 
surprised  a  Mexican  camp,  drove  away  the  men,  and  took 
possession  of  their  horses."  In  this  affair,  Porter  and  one 
man  were  killed — whether  any,  or  how  many  Mexican 
lives  were  sacrificed,  does  not  appear. 

Thus  it  seems,  that  notwithstanding  all  the  contri 
vances  of  the  administration  to  compel  the  Mexicans  to 
strike  the  first  blow,  it  was  in  fact  given  by  ourselves. 

*  Letter  to  Secretary  of  War,  April  23, 1846. 


140  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

The  idea  of  small  parties  committing  depredations,  is  a 
paltry  apology  for  commencing  a  war.  There  were  no 
Americans,  no  Texans,  except  the  American  army  in  the 
country,  upon  whom  these  small  parties  could  commit 
depredations.  What  were  the  depredations  complained 
of,  and  who  were  the  sufferers,  the  General  did  not  think 
proper  to  specify.  But,  moreover,  the  detachments  Avere 
not  authorized  to  arrest  the  depredators,  but  to  capture 
and  destroy  ANY  small  parties  they  might  meet,  guilty  or 
innocent.  The  General  was  instructed  not  to  molest  "  the 
military  establishments"  on  this  side  of  the  river ;  yet  he 
resolves  that  any  small  parties  from  these  establishments 
who  might  leave  their  barracks,  were  to  be  captured  and 
destroyed.  His  next  letter,  26th  April,  reports,  "  that  a 
party  of  dragoons  sent  out  by  me  on  the  24th  instant  to 
watch  the  course  of  the  river  above  on  this  bank,  became 
engaged  with  a  very  large  force  of  the  enemy,  and,  after 
a  short  affair  in  which  some  sixteen  were  killed  and 
wounded,  appear  to  have  been  surrounded  and  compelled 
to  surrender."  The  very  peculiar  phraseology  used  to 
express  this  battle,  "  became  engaged,"  was  not  perhaps 
accidental.  Did  the  party  of  dragoons  gallantly  attack 
the  very  large  force  of  the  enemy,  and  were  they  in  conse 
quence  of  their  rashness  taken  prisoners  after  losing  six 
teen  in  killed  and  wounded  ?  Or  did  the  large  party 
commence  hostilities  by  attacking  the  dragoons?  To 
these  very  natural  inquiries  no  response  is  found  in  the 
General's  despatch.  The  particulars  of  the  case  were, 
however,  disclosed  in  letters  from  the  army,  and  published 
in  the  newspapers.  It  appears  that  Thornton  the  com 
mander  of  the  party,  discovering  a  small  body  of  Mexi 
cans  on  the  summit  of  a  rising  ground,  "  immediately 
charged  upon  them  ;"  but  the  main  body  who  were  on  the 
other  side  of  the  hill,  and  therefore  unseen,  coming  up, 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  141 

captured  the  assailants.*  Another  letter,  published  in  the 
Philadelphia  Inquirer,  says,  "  Captain  Thornton,  when 
about  twenty-five  miles  above  the  army,  discovered  some 
Mexicans  on  a  hill,  when  he  immediately  charged  upon  them. 
VVhen  he  got  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  he  found  himself  in  a 
trap.  The  Mexicans  were  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  hill 
in  a  field."f 

General  Taylor,  after  mentioning  the  affair  in  the  words 
we  have  given,  announces  to  the  Cabinet  the  attainment 
of  the  long  desired  result.  "HOSTILITIES  MAY  NOW  BE 
CONSIDERED  AS  COMMENCED."  Upon  the  strength  of  this 
despatch,  the  President  announced  to  Congress  and  the 
world,  "  MEXICO  HAS  PASSED  THE  BOUNDARY  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES,  HAS  INVADED  OUR  TERRITORY  AND  SHED 
AMERICAN  BLOOD  UPON  THE  AMERICAN  SOIL.  She  has 
proclaimed  that  hostilities  have  commenced,  and  that  the 
two  nations  are  now  at  war"  How  far  the  unqualified 
assertions  contained  in  the  first  sentence  of  the  passage 
quoted,  are  in  accordance  with  truth,  those  who  have 
read  the  preceding  pages  are  qualified  to  judge  for  them 
selves.  The  following  facts  may  tend  to  test  the  veracity 
of  the  last  averment. 

General  Arista  arrived  at  Metamoras  on  the  24th  April, 
and  finding  the  supplies  intended  for  the  army  cut  off  by 
the  blockade  of  the  river,  the  great  square  of  the  city 
commanded  by  Taylor's  cannon,  American  parties  scour 
ing  the  country,  breaking  up  Mexican  camps,  and  seizing 
their  horses,  he  gave  notice  that  he  considered,  as  well  he 
might,  hostilities  commenced,  and  that  he  should  prose- 

*  See  New  Orleans  Picayune,  May  2d,  1846. 

f  Nearly  a  year  after  the  commencement  of  the  war,  Thorn 
ton's  official  report  of  this  affair  was  made  public  It  differs 
in  some  particulars  from  the  newspaper  accounts,  but  the  fact 
of  the  charge  is  admitted,  though  under  the  plea  of  self-defence. 
The  charge  was  made  before  the  Mexicans  had  fired  a  shot. 


142  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR, 

cute  them.  He  thus  plainly  disavowed  commencing  the 
war.  How  far  Arista's  declaration,  that  he  considered 
hostilities  commenced  by  the  Americans,  justifies  Mr. 
Folk's  solemn  asseveration  that  Mexico  had  "  proclaimed 
that  hostilities  had  commenced,  and  that  the  two  nations 
are  now  at  war,"  the  reader  will  decide.  Should  the  no 
tice  of  the  24th  April,  fail  to  establish  the  veracity  of  Mr. 
Folk's  announcement  to  Congress,  the  friends  of  that  gen 
tleman  call  to  his  defence  an  order  issued  by  the  Presi 
dent  of  Mexico  on  the  18th  April,  more  than  a  month 
after  Taylor  had  left  Corpus  Christi,  and  commenced  his 
invasion  of  the  Mexican  territory  ;  "From  this  day,"  says 
the  order,  "  begins  our  defensive  war,  and  every  point  of 
our  territory  attacked  or  invaded  shall  be  defended.'"  As 
the  invasion  continued,  a  proclamation  was  issued  by  the 
Mexican  President  on  the  24th  April  in  which  he  says, 
"  The  flag  of  the  stars  waves  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rio 
Bravo  del  Norte,  opposite  to  the  city  of  Metamoras,  after 
taking  possession  of  the  river  with  their  ships  of  war. 
The  town  of  Laredo  was  surprised  by  a  party  of  their 
troops,  and  a  picket  of  ours  on  the  watch  was  disarmed. 
Hostilities  then  have  been  commenced  by  the  United  States 
of  America,  in  making  new  conquests  upon  our  territories 
within  the  boundaries  of  Tamaulipas  and  New  Leon.  / 
have  not  the  right  to  declare  war.  It  is  for  the  august 
Congress  of  the  nation,  as  soon  as  they  assemble,  to  take 
into  consideration  all  the  consequences  of  the  conflict  in 
which  we  are  involved.  But  if,  during  this  interval  the 
United  States  should  without  notice,  attack  our  sea  coasts 
on  the  Texan  frontier,  then  it  will  become  necessary  to 
repel  force  by  force,  and  a  beginning  once  made  by  the 
invaders,  to  make  fall  upon  them  the  immense  responsi 
bility  of  disturbing  the  peace  of  the  world." 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  no  instance  is  the  annexation 


REVIEW    OF    THE   MEXICAN    WAR.  143 

of  Texas  cited  as  an  evidence  of  the  existence  of  hos 
tilities  ;  but  solely  the  invasion  of  the  Rio  Grande,  and  the 
acts  of  General  Taylor  connected  with  the  invasion. 

General  Taylor  lost  no  time  in  prosecuting  the  war  with 
his  utmost  energy  without  waiting  for  further  orders.  On 
the  17th  of  May,  only  four  days  after  Congress  had  de 
clared,  "that  war  existed  by  the  act  of  Mexico,"  and  of 
course  before  he  had  received  advices  that  the  war  he  had 
commenced  had  been  recognized  by  either  government. 
General  Arista  sent  a  flag  of  truce  to  him  requesting  an 
armistice  for  six  weeks,  giving  as  a  reason,  his  wish  to 
communicate  with  his  own  government.  But  Genera] 
Taylor  was  too  well  acquainted  with  the  designs  of  his 
own  government  to  accept  a  proposition  so  much  in  ac 
cordance  with  the  dictates  of  humanity,  and  which  possi 
bly  might  have  led  to  the  restoration  of  peace.  The 
armistice  was  rejected  ;  and  the  next  day  he  crossed  the 
river  and  took  possession  of  the  city  of  Metamoras.* 

In  the  fierce  strife  of  contending  factions,  the  awful 
guilt  of  commencing  an  offensive  and  unnecessary  war, 
will  be  imputed  to  different  parties  ;  but  the  punishment 
due  to  guilt  so  enormous  will  be  awarded  by  a  tribunal 
before  which  all  hearts  will  be  open,  and  from  which  no 
secrets  will  be  hid. 

*  General  Taylor,  informing  the  War  Department  of  his  re 
jection  of  this  proposal,  states,  that  he  replied  to  Arista,  "  I  was 
receiving  large  reinforcements  and  could  not  now  suspend  ope 
rations  which  7  had  nut  initiated  nor  provoked — that  the  possession 
of  Metamoras  was  a  sine  qua  non."  It  is  to  be  supposed  that  the 
General  reconciled  this  extraordinary  declaration  to  his  con 
science,  on  the  principle  of  qui  facit  per  alium,  facit  per  se,  and 
that,  being  a  mere  instrument,  the  war  was  initiated  and  pro 
voked,  not  by  himself,  but  the  President. 


144  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

SEIZURE    OF    CALIFORNIA. 

BEFORE  proceeding  to  detail  the  part  taken  by  Mr.  Polk 
and  Congress,  on  the  receipt  of  Taylor's  announcement 
that  hostilities  had  commenced,  we  will  call  the  attention 
of  the  reader  to  the  early  and  provident  measures  devised 
to  secure,  as  speedily  as  possible,  the  object  of  these  hos 
tilities,  the  ACQUISITION  OF  CALIFORNIA.  On  the  24th 
June,  1845,  by  order  of  Mr.  Polk,  "  secret  and  confiden 
tial"  instructions  were  given  to  Commodore  Sloat,  com 
manding  the  United  States  naval  forces  in  the  Pacific.  "  If 
you  ascertain  with  certainty  that  Mexico  has  declared  war 
against  the  United  States,  you  will  at  once  possess  your 
self  of  the  port  of  Saint  Francisco,  and  blockade  and  oc 
cupy  such  other  ports  as  your  force  may  permit."*  This 
naval  force  consisted  of  five  vessels,  and  for  months  it  was 
kept  on  the  California  coast,  ready  to  make  the  coveted 
prize  at  a  moment's  warning,  and  without  waiting  for  ad 
vices  from  home.  The  Commodore  with  his  own  and 
another  vessel  were  waiting  at  Mazatlan,  at  the  entrance 
of  the  Gulf  of  California,  two  more  were  stationed  off 
Monterey,  and  the  fifth  was  at  St.  Francisco.  So  admira 
bly  had  all  been  arranged  for  an  immediate  conquest.  On 
the  7th  June,  and  of  course  within  less  than  four  weeks 
after  the  declaration  of  war  by  Congress,  the  Commodore 

*  See  documents  submitted  by  the  President,  in  obedience  to  a 
call  from  the  House  of  Representatives,  for  instructions  to  officers 
in  California  and  the  Pacific,  communicated  Dec  22d,  1846. 
App.  to  Cong.  Globe,  2  Sess.  29  Cong.,  page  46. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  145 

heard  of  Taylor's  conflicts  on  the  Rio  Grande.  The  long 
expected  moment  had  arrived,  and  the  next  day  he  weighed 
anchor  and  sailed  for  Monterey.  On  the  7th  July,  that 
place  was  once  more,  without  resistance,  seized  by  our 
forces,  and  Sloat,  like  his  predecessor,  Jones,  forthwith 
distributed  his  proclamations  in  English  and  Spanish. 
Where  or  when  they  were  prepared,  and  whether  they 
were  in  manuscript  or  print,  does  not  appear.  Two  days 
after,  St.  Francisco  was  likewise  in  our  possession.  Sloat's 
proclamation  reflected  the  determination  of  his  employers 
—"Henceforward  California  will  be  a  portion  of  the 
United  States." 

On  landing  at  Monterey,  the  Commodore  addressed  a 
general  order  to  his  men  in  which  he  told  them,  "  It  is 
not  only  our  duty  to  take  California,  but  to  preserve  it 
afterwards  as  a  part  of  the  United  States,  at  all  hazards.* 
It  is  the  duty  of  commanders  to  make  conquests,  but  nofc 
to  anticipate  the  terms  of  a  treaty  of  peace.  Yet  here 
we  find  a  naval  captain  solemnly  proclaiming  that  the  con 
quest  he  has  made  is  never  to  be  restored.  He  foresees 
and  proclaims  the  annexation  of  California,  without  appa 
rently  knowing  the  wishes  and  intentions  of  his  own  gov 
ernment,  or  without  speculating  on  the  fortunes  of  war. 
On  the  13th  August,  Pueblos  des  los  Angelos,  the  capital 
of  the  province  was  taken,  and  on  the  17th  August,  Com 
modore  Stockton,  who  had  succeeded  Sloat,  and  who 
styled  himself  "  Commander-in-Chief  and  Governor  of 
the  Territory  of  California"  announced  in  a  proclamation, 
"  The  flag  of  the  United  States  is  now  flying  from  every 
commanding  position  in  the  Territory,  and  California  is 
entirely  free  from  Mexican  dominion.  The  territory  of 
California  now  belongs  to  the  United  States."  On  the 

*  For  the  documents  here  quoted,  see  Ex.  Doc.  29  Cong,  2 
Sess.  House  of  Rep.,  No.  4. 


146          REVIEW  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAR. 

28th  of  the  same  month,  he  wrote  home,  "  this  rich  and 
beautiful  country  belongs  to  the  United  States,  and  is  FOR 
EVER  free  from  Mexican  dominion."  All  this,  it  must  be 
admitted,  was  quick  work.  On  the  7th  July,  Monterey 
was  taken,  and  in  six  weeks  the  object  of  the  war  was 
accomplished,  il  the  rich  and  beautiful  country  belonged 
to  the  United  States."  Not  a  life  appears  to  have  been 
lost  in  the  conquest,  The  Mexican  government  had  made 
no  declaration  of  war,  and  its  whole  attention  was  en 
grossed  by  the  defence  of  its  territory  on  the  Rio  Grande. 
The  inhabitants  of  California  were  utterly  unprepared  for 
war,  and  were  as  ignorant  as  Commodore  Sloat  himself  of 
the  action  of  Congress. 

The  rapidity  with  which  the  conquest  of  California  was 
effected,  was  not  however,  entirely  owing  to  the  adroit 
measure  of  stationing  armed  vessels  on  different  points  of 
the  coast,  ready  to  make  their  descent  the  moment  Taylor 
had  succeeded  in  provoking  hostilities  on  the  Rio  Grande. 
It  will  be  recollected  that  the  Mexican  Government  had 
been  alarmed  some  years  before  at  the  ingress  of  Ameri 
cans  into  that  province,  and  had  passed  an  order  requiring 
their  departure.  Nor  will  it  be  forgotten  that,  intimidated 
by  the  bullying  demeanor  of  Mr.  Thompson,  and  his 
threat  to  demand  his  passports,  the  order  had  been 
revoked.  The  reader  will  call  to  mind  that  gentleman's 
confession  of  his  "compunctious  visitings"  on  the  occa 
sion,  well-knowing  that  these  foreigners  were  intending  to 
re-enact  the  Texan  game.  The  alarm  of  Mexico  was 
well  founded.  The  conquest  of  the  province  was  prepared 
and  facilitated  by  the  treasonable  course  of  the  American 
settlers  previous  to  their  knowledge  of  the  existence  of 
the  war.  The  history  of  the  rebellion  in  California  is  but 
imperfectly  known.  The  only  information  respecting  it, 
disclosed  by  the  Cabinet  at  Washington,  is  contained  in 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  147 

the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  made  5th  December, 
1846,  and  from  this  document  we  gather  the  following 
narrative.  In  May,  1845,  shortly  before  "  the  secret  and 
confidential"  instructions  were  given  to  Commodore  Sloat, 
Captain  Fremont,  of  the  United  States  Army,  was  des 
patched  by  Government  on  a  tour  of  scientific  explora 
tion  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains.  He  had  sixty-two 
men  under  him ;  but  the  Secretary  Declares  that  the 
expedition  was  not  of  a  military  character,  and  that  the 
attendants  did  not  belong  to  the  army.  On  reaching  the 
frontier  of  California,  the  Captain  proceeded  alone  to 
Monterey  to  solicit  permission  from  the  Commandant, 
General  Castro,  for  himself  and  party,  to  pass  through  a 
portion  of  the  province.  The  desired  permission  was 
granted,  but  after  the  party  had  entered  California,  Fre 
mont  received  information  from  Americans,  that  Castro 
was  preparing  to  attack  him  with  "  a  comparatively  large 
force  of  artillery,  cavalry  and  infantry,  upon  the  pretext 
that,  under  the  cover  of  a  scientific  mission,  he  was  excit 
ing  the  American  settlers  to  revolt."  This  was  indeed  mar 
vellous  intelligence,  and  most  marvellous  means  did  the 
scientific  Capiain  take  to  remove  the  groundless  suspicions 
of  the  Californian  General.  Instead  of  making  his  way 
out  of  the  province  as  fast  as  he  could,  and  proceeding 
upon  the  business  entrusted  to  him  by  his  Government, 
"  he  took  a  position  on  a  mountain  overlooking  Monterey 
at  a  distance  of  about  thirty  miles,  entrenched  it,  raised 
the  flag  of  the  United  States,  and  with  his  own  meu 
sixty-two  in  number,  awaited  the  approach  of  the  Com 
mandant-General."  But  the  Captain,  however  valiant,  did 
not  depend  solely  on  his  sixty-two  men  to  resist  the  artil 
lery,  cavalry,  and  infantry  of  Castro  ;  for  the  Secretary 
tells  us,  "  the  American  settlers  were  ready  to  join  him  at 
all  hazards,  if  he  had  been  attacked  ;"  and  hence  we 


148  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

discover  his  motive  for  taking  a  military  position  at  a  con 
venient  distance  from  Monterey.  This  was  in  March, 
1846.  After  waiting  some  time  for  the  anticipated  attack, 
but  nothing  occurring  to  furnish  a  pretext  for  commenc 
ing  hostilities,  he  proceeded,  without  the  slightest  molesta 
tion  from  the  Government,  on  his  route  to  Oregon. 

In  Oregon,  he  was  annoyed  by  hostile  Indians,  who,  as 
the  Secretary  informs  us,  but  without  condescending  to 
furnish  a  particle  of  proof,  "  had  been  excited  against  him 
by  General  Castro."  Again  the  Captain  received  alarm 
ing  intelligence,  but  from  what  source  does  not  appear, 
"  that  General  Castro,  in  addition  to  his  Indian  allies,  was 
advancing  against  him  with  artillery  and  cavalry  at  the 
head  of  four  or  five  hundred  men  !"  He  also  heard 
that  "  the  American  settlers  in  the  valley  of  Sacra 
mento  were  comprehended  in  the  scheme  of  destruction, 
meditated  against  his  own  party." — "  Under  these  cir 
cumstances  (continues  the  Secretary),  he  determined  to 
turn  upon  his  Mexican  pursuers,  and  seek  safety  both  for 
his  own  party  and  the  American  settlers,  not  merely  in 
the  defeat  of  Castro,  BUT  IN  THE  TOTAL  OVERTHROW  OF 
THE  MEXICAN  GOVERNMENT  IN  CALIFORNIA,  AND  THE 
ESTABLISHMENT  OF  AN  INDEPENDENT  GOVERNMENT  IN  THAT 
EXTENSIVE  DEPARTMENT." 

Here  let  us  pause  a  moment,  to  reflect  on  the  utter 
atrocity  and  profligacy  of  a  design  which  the  Secretary 
of  War  ostentatiously  parades  before  the  world.  Admit 
ting  the  truth  of  the  ridiculous  rumors  said  to  have 
reached  Fremont,  it  is  very  evident,  that  he  was  perfectly 
confident  that  the  combined  strength  of  his  own  party 
and  that  of  the  American  settlers,  was  abundantly  suffi 
cient  for  their  own  protection,  since  he  relied  on  it  to 
overturn  the  Mexican  authority  and  to  establish  an  inde 
pendent  Government.  He,  a  commissioned  officer  of  the 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  149 

United  States,  without  any  known  authority  from  his  own 
Government  abandons  the  object  of  his  mission,  and 
returns  from  Oregon  into  California,  for  the  express  , 
purpose  of  organizing  a  rebellion  and  wresting  from/ 
Mexico  with  whom  we  were  at  peace,  an  "  extensive 
department."  It  is  certainly  a  remarkable  coincident, 
that  while  we  had  a  squadron  off  the  ports  of  California 
with  orders  to  seize  them  at  a  moment's  warning,  Captain 
Fremont  was  opportunely  exciting  rebellion  and  a  civil 
war  in  the  interior.  The  Secretary  himself  foolishly  puts 
the  stamp  of  iniquity  upon  this  adventure  by  declaring, 
"  it  was  on  the  6th  of  June,  and  before  the  commencement 
of  the  war  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico  could 
have  been  known,  that  this  resolution  was  taken,  and  by 
the  5th  July  it  was  carried  into  effect  by  a  series  of  rapid 
attacks  by  a  small  body  of  adventurous  men  under  the 
conduct  of  an  intrepid  leader."  We  are  told  that  on  the 
HthjJune,  a  convoy  of  two  hundred  horses  for  Castro's 
camp  with  an  officer  and  fourteen  men,  were  surprised 
and  captured  by  twelve  of  Fremont's  party.  On  the  15th, 
the  military  post  of  Sanoma  was  also  surprised  and 
taken,  with  nine  brass  cannon,  two  hundred  and  fifty 
stand  of  muskets,  and  several  officers  and  some  men, 
with  munitions  of  war.  "Leaving  a  small  garrison  in 
Sanoma,  Colonel  Fremont  went  to  the  Sacramento  to 
rouse  the  American  settlers  ;  but,  scarcely  had  he  arrived 
when  an  express  reached  him  that  Castro's  whole  force 
was  crossing  the  bay  to  attack  that  place.  On  the  morn 
ing  of  the  25th,  he  arrived  with  ninety  riflemen  from  the 
American  settlers  in  that  valley.  The  enemy  had  not  yet 
appeared — scouts  were  sent  out  to  reconnoitre,  and  a 
party  of  twenty  fell  in  with  a  squadron  of  seventy  dra 
goons,  attacked  and  defeated  it.  The  country  north  of 
the  Bay  of  San  Francisco  being  cleared  of  the  enemy, 
13* 


150  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

Colonel  Fremont  returned  to  Sanoraa  on  the  evening  of 
the  4th  July,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  5th  called  the 
people  together,  explained  to  them  the  condition  of 
tilings  in  the  province,  and  recommended  an  immediate 
declaration  of  independence.  The  declaration  was  made, 
and  he  was  selected  to  take  the  chief  direction  of  affairs." 
The  new-born  Republic  of  California  existed  but  for  the 
brief  period  of  four  days,  being  then  strangled  by  its 
parent,  on  receiving,  as  the  Secretary  tells  us,  "  the 
gratifying  intelligence  "  of  the  war  with  Mexico.  Fremont 
and  his  followers,  together  with  the  American  settlers, 
immediately  co-operated  with  the  naval  forces,  and,  en  the 
departure  of  Commodore  Stockton,  the  captain  of  the 
scientific  exploring  party  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
became  Governor  of  the  AMERICAN  TERRITORY  OF  CALI 
FORNIA. 

Such  is  the  account  the  American  Government  thought 
proper  to  give  of  the  California!!  rebellion,  throwing  the 
whole  responsibility  of  this  atrocious  affair  on  Fremont. 
Fortunately  for  the  character  of  that  officer,  transactions 
which  the  Secretary  did  not  deem  it  expedient  to  report 
have  since  come  to  light.  On  his  return  to  the  United 
States,  Colonel  Fremont  presented  certain  pecuniary 
claims  growing  out  of  the  conquest  of  California.  The 
subject  was  investigated  by  a  committee  of  the  Senate, 
and  their  report  dissipates  much  of  the  mystery  which 
had  hitherto  rested  on  Fremont's  extraordinary  conduct.* 

It  seems  that,  on  the  3rd  Nov.,  1845,  after  Taylor  had 
been  ordered  to  the  Rio  Grande,  and  while  he  was  wait 
ing  with  the  army  at  Corpus  Christi,  five  States  having 
been  required  to  furnish  him  with  whatever  troops  he 
might  need,  a  messenger  was  despatched  by  the  Cabinet 
to  Fremont.  This  messenger  was  Lieutenant  Gillespie  of 

*  See  Report,  Senate  Doc  ,  No.  75.     30th  Cong.,  1st  Sess. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  151 

the  navy.  He  was  sent  to  Vera  Cruz,  and  thence  travel 
led  through  Mexico  to  Mazatlan,  in  California,  in  the  dis 
guise  of  a  merchant.  After  an  interview  with  Commodore 
Sloat  at  Mazatlan,  he  proceeded  to  Monterey,  having 
been  intrusted  at  Washington  Avith  a  letter  of  instructions 
to  the  American  Consul.  The  contents  of  this  letter  have 
been  withheld  from  the  public,  and  no  doubt  for  sufficient 
cause,  since  we  find  from  Gillespie's  own  confession  that, 
before  landing  in  Mexico,  lie  destroyed  the  letter,  having 
first  committed  it  to  memory.  This  letter  to  the  Consul 
he  was  instructed  to  communicate  to  Fremont  also. 
Hence  we  find  that  Gillespie  was  charged  with  instruc 
tions  of  such  a  character,  that  he  deemed  it  imprudent  to 
carry  the  paper  about  his  person,  and  that  these  instruc 
tions,  although  addressed  to  the  Consul  in  Monterey,  were 
equally  intended  for  Fremont.  After  reciting  to  the  Con 
sul  the  commands  from  Washington,  the  agent  penetrated 
into  Oregon  in  pursuit  of  Fremont,  and  found  him  a  little 
beyond  the  California  frontier.  He  delivered  to  him  a 
note  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  composed  in  perfect 
keeping  with  the  fictitious  character  assumed  by  the 
bearer.  It  consisted  of  a  few  lines,  addressed  to  J.  C. 
Fremont,  Esquire,  and  telling  him  that  Mr.  Archibald  H. 
Gillespie,  about  visiting  the  North-west  coast  of  America 
on  business,  had  requested  a  letter  of  introduction  to  him ; 
a  request  with  which  the  Secretary  complies,  because  the 
bearer  was  a  gentleman  of  worth  and  respectability,  and 
worthy  of  Mr.  Fremont's  regard.  This,  it  must  be  con 
fessed,  was  a  novel  mode  of  introducing  an  officer  of  the 
navy  to  another  of  the  army.  But  as  one  party  was  for 
the  time  being  a  travelling  merchant,  and  the  other  a 
man  of  science,  it  was  proper  the  introduction  should  be 
adapted  to  the  parts  they  were  playing.  Of  course,  the 
note  was  to  accredit  Gillespie  as  a  confidential  agent  of 


152  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN'    WAR. 

the  Government,  and  to  intimate  to  Fremont  that  he  wns 
to  obey  the  instructions  orally  communicated  to  him. 
Gillespie,  in  his  examination  before  the  Committee,  re 
marked,  "  I  was  directed  by  Mi1.  Buchanan  to  confer 
with  Colonel  Fremont,  and  make  known  my  instructions, 
which,  as  I  have  previously  stated,  were  to  watch  over 
the  interests  of  the  United  States,  and  counteract  the  in 
fluence  of  any  foreign  agents  who  might  be  in  the  coun  • 
try  with  objects  prejudicial  to  the  United  States.  I  was 
also  directed  to  show  Colonel  Fr-emont  the  duplicate  of 
the  despatch  to  Mr.  Larkin,  Consul  at  Monterey,  and  tell 
ing  him  it  was  the  wish  of  the  Government  to  conciliate 
the  feelings  of  the  people  of  California,  and  encourage  a 
friendship  towards  the  United  States." 

The  Government,  of  course,  knew  as  well  as  Mr. 
Thompson  that  the  Californian  settlers  were  anxious  to 
re-enact  the  Texan  game.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that 
so  much  secrecy  and  pains  were  taken  to  have  agents  on 
the  spot  to  watch  over  our  interests,  and  encourage  friend 
ship  towards  us,  without  intimating  the  means  to  be  used 
in  effecting  their  object.  An  independent  republic  in 
California,  composed  of  American  citizens,  would,  should 
peace  continue  with  Mexico,  inevitably  result  in  annexa 
tion  :  should  war  ensue,  it  would  greatly  facilitate  the 
conquest  of  the  territory. 

The  messenger  from  Washington  reached  Fremont  on 
the  9th  May.  Immediately  all  his  scientific  pursuits  were 
abandoned,  and  he  and  his  party,  together  with  Gillespie, 
hastened  to  the  American  settlements  in  California. 
These  were  reached  on  the  Sacramento  River  in  thirteen 
days.  And  now  opened  another  scene  in  the  plot.  The 
gentleman  "about  visiting  the  Xorth-west  coast  of  Ame 
rica  on  business "  proceeded  down  the  river  to  Saint 
Francisco,  off  which  port  a  United  "States'  ship-of-war 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  153 

was  lying,  ready  to  seize  upon  the  place  at  a  moment's 
warning.  /The  American  commander,  Gillespie  tells  us, 
"  with  great  kindness,  promptness,  and  energy,  furnished 
me  with  all  the  supplies  he  could  spare  from  his  vessel, 
as  also  having  supplied  Captain  Fremont  with  a  small 
sum  of  money."  What  these  supplies  were  we  are  not 
told,  but  may  readily  imagine,  especially  as  they  were 
sent  in  the  ship's  barge,  under  the  command  of  a  lieuten 
ant.  Gillespie  accompanied  the  supplies  up  the  river, 
and  on  the  13th  rejoined  Fremont.  He  found  that  the 
insurrection  had  already  commenced,  the  settlers  rising, 
as  he  says,  "to  save  themselves  and  their  crops  from  de 
struction." 

On  the  16th,  Captain  Merritt,  one  of  the  settlers,  "ar 
rived  with  a  small  escort,  bringing  with  him  General  Val- 
lejo,  Colonel  Salvador  Vallejo,  and  Colonel  Prudon,  pri 
soners  ;  a  party  of  forty  of  the  settlers  having  surprised 
and  taken  Sonoma,  the  first  military  garrison  in  that  part 
of  the  country."  Thus  we  see  a  war  against  the  Calif or- 
nians  was  commenced  after  the  arrrival  of  Fremont,  and 
without  one  single  act  of  hostility  having  been  committed 
against  them.  Of  course,  we  have  assertions  in  abundance 
of  the  intentions  of  General  Castro,  the  commanding  offi 
cer,  while  the  result  proved  his  utter  inability  even  to 
defend  himself.  Fremont  and  his  party  zealously  coope 
rated  in  the  war,  and  were  presently  masters  of  that  part 
of  the  country.  The  force  at  his  disposal  was  a  battalion 
of  224  men,  and  on  the  5th  July  he  raised  the  standard 
of  the  REPUBLIC  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

On  a  calm  review  of  the  facts  before  us,  it  is  impossible 
to  resist  the  conviction,  that  Fremont  was  given  to  under 
stand,  but  in  a  way  not  to  compromit  the  Government, 
that  the  abandonment  of  his  exploration  in  Oregon  for  the 
purpose  of  exciting  and  aiding  an  insurrection  in  California, 


154  REVIEW    OF    THE    .MEXICAN    WAR. 

would  not  expose  him  to  censure.  On  no  other  supposi 
tion  would  it  be  possible  for  him  to  escape  the  personal 
application  of  the  principle  laid  down  by  General  Jackson, 
that  "  any  individual  of  any  nation  making  war  against  the 
citizens  of  another  nation,  they  being  at  peace,  forfeits  his 
allegiance,  and  becomes  an  outlaw  and  a  pirate."  If  he 
acted,  as  there  is  little  reason  to  doubt,  as  the  agent  of  the 
President,  and  in  accordance  with  his  wishes,  upon  that 
officer  rests  the  perfidy  and  turpitude  of  secretly  instigat 
ing  this  rebellion  and  civil  war,  while  professing  friendly 
intentions  towards  Mexico,  and  soliciting  a  renewal  of 
diplomatic  intercourse  with  her.  Had  Mexico  paid  all  our 
claims  to  the  last  cent,  had  she  yielded  the  Valley  of  the 
Rio  Grande  without  a  murmur,  and  had  there  conse 
quently  been  no  war,  still,  Fremont's  "  Republic  of  Cali 
fornia,''  like  Houston's  "  Republic  of  Texas,"  would  have 
become,  ours  by  "joint  resolutions"  of  annexation,  and 
Mr.  Polk,  or  some  other  President  in  his  words  would 
have  congratulated  Congress  that  "  This  accession  to  our 
territory,"  like  that  of  Texas,  "  has  been  a  bloodless  achieve 
ment.  ISTo  armed  force  has  been  raised  to  produce  the 
result.  The  sword  has  had  no  part  in  the  victory." 

It  is  curious  to  observe  with  what  wonderful  clairvoy 
ance  the  naval  officers  in  California  understood  and  exe 
cuted  their  instructions,  long  before  they  were  received. 
It  appears  officially*  that  the  despatch  of  the  13th  May, 
1846,  announcing  the  declaration  of  war,  did  not  reach 
the  Squadron  till  about  the  28th  of  August ;  and  of  course 
up  to  that  time  these  officers  had  been  acting  on  their  own 
discretion.  Let  us  now  see  what  instructions  were  sent  to 
them  after  the  war,  and  how  exactly  they  had  been  anti 
cipated  before  their  receipt. 

*  Report  of  Secretary  of  Navy,  19th  Dec.,  1846.  Appendix  to 
Cong.  Globe  for  29th  Pong  -  2d  SPSS.,  p.  45. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  155 

On  the  15th  May,  two  days  after  war  was  declared, 
Commodore  Sloat  was  directed  to  "  consider  the  most  im 
portant  object  to  be,  to  take  and  hold  possession  of  San 
Francisco."  On  the  19th  July,  San  Francisco  was  taken, 
and  the  inhabitants  were  informed  by  proclamation,  that 
"  henceforth  California  will  be  a  portion  of  the  United 
States" 

The  next  despatch,  June  8th,  instructs  Sloat  to  "  take 
such  measures  as  will  best  promote  the  attachment  of 
the  people  of  California  to  the  United  States."  Sloat, 
in  his  proclamation,  dated  7th  July,  assures  the  Cali- 
fornians  that  "peaceable  inhabitants  will  enjoy  the  same 
rights  and  privileges  as  the  citizens  of  any  other  por 
tion  of  that  territory  (the  United  States),  with  all  the 
rights  and  privileges  they  now  enjoy,  together  with  the 
privileges  of  choosing  their  own  magistrates  and  other 
officers  for  the  administration  of  justice  among  themselves, 
and  the  same  protection  will  be  extended  to  them  as  to 
any  other  State  in  the  Union."  Thus  the  proclamation 
had  already  annexed  them  to  the  United  States. 

On  the  12th  July,  Sloat  is  told,  "  The  object  of  the 
United  States  is,  under  its  rights  as  a  belligerent  nation,  to 
})ossess  itself  entirely  of  Upper  California,"  and  if*  at  the 


*  That  this  hypothetical  statement  was  mere  affectation,  is  evident 
from  the  indiscreet  disclosures  of  the  intentions  of  Mr.  Polk, 
contained  in  the  instructions  to  Stockton,  of  llth  January, 
1847  :  "  At  present  it  is  needless,  arid  might  be  injurious  to  the 
public  interests,  to  agitate  the  question  in  California,  how  long 
those  persons  who  have  been  elected  for  a  prescribed  time,  will 
have  official  authority.  If  our  right  of  possession  shall  become 
absolute,  such  an  inquiry  is  needless.  And  if  by  treaty  or 
otherwise,  we  lose  the  possession,  those  who  follow  us  will  govern 
the  country.  The  President,  however,  anticipates  no  such  re 
sult.  On  the  contrary,  he  foresees  no  contingency  in  which 
the  United  States  will  ever  surrender  or  relinquish,  the  "possession  of 
California.'"  Of  course  Mr.  Polk  had  thus  early,  and  without 
consulting  the  Senate,  determined  at  all  hazards  to  make  the 
cession  of  California  the  SMe  qua  won  of  a  treaty  of  peace. 


156  REVIEW    OF    THK    MEXICAN    WAR. 

conclusion  of  peace,  "  the  basis  of  the  uti  possidetis  shall 
be  established,  the  Government  expects  through  your 
forces  to  be  found  in  actual  possession  of  Upper  Califor 
nia.  This  will  bring  with  it  the  necessity  of  a  civil  ad 
ministration —  Such  a  Government  should  be  established 
under  your  protection ."  Sloat  had  retired  on  account  of 
ill  health,  and  been  succeeded  by  Commodore  Stockton 
who,  long  before  the  receipt  of  this  despatch,  issued  a 
proclamation  making  "  Known  to  all  men,"  that  the  terri 
tory  known  as  Upper  and  Lower  California,  is  a  territory 
of  the  United  States,  under  the  name  of  the  territory  of 
California.  tcl  do,  by  these  presents,"  continues  the  pro 
clamation,  "  further  order  and  decree,  that  the  Govern 
ment  of  the  said  territory  of  California  shall  be,  until 
altered  by  the  proper  authority  of  the  United  States,  con 
stituted  in  manner  and  form  as  follows  ;"  and  then  follows 
a  form  of  Government  consisting  of  a  Governor,  Secre 
tary,  Legislative  Council,  &o. 

On  the  17th  August,  Commodore  Shubrick  was  sent  to 
relieve  Sloat,  from  whom  not  a  word  had  yet  been  receiv 
ed.  He  was  ordered  to  take  immediate  possession  of 
Upper  California,  especially  of  the  three  ports  of  San 
Francisco,  Monterey,  and  San  Diego,"  if  not  already  cap 
tured, — and  also,  "  to  take  possession,  by  an  inland  expe 
dition,  of  Pueblos  de  los  Angelos."  All  four  places  were 
captured  before  a  line  was  received  from  Washington,  and 
Pueblos  de  los  Angelos  was  taken  by  an  inland  expedi 
tion  four  days  before  the  date  of  the  instructions.  Shu- 
brick  was  farther  directed  that  "all  United  States  vessels 
and  merchandize  must  be  allowed  by  the  local  authorities 
of  the  ports  of  which  you  take  possession,  to  come  and  go 
free  of  duty  ;  but  on  foreign  vessels  and  goods  reasonable 
duties  may  be  imposed."  But  Commodore  Stockton  had 
already  anticipated  this  instruction  two  days  before  it  was 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  157 

written.  On  the  15th  August,  he  had  imposed  a  duty 
of  fifteen  per  cent,  ad  valorum  on  all  goods  imported  from 
foreign  ports,  and  a  tonnage  duty  on  foreign  vessels  of 
fifty  cents  per  ton,  but  no  duties  were  imposed  on  Ameri 
can  vessels  and  merchandize. 

On  finding  these  various  instructions  so  exactly  antici 
pated,  so  minutely  fulfilled  by  officers  who  had  not  re 
ceived  one  line  of  intelligence  from  their  government  sub 
sequent  to  the  commencement  of  the  war,  it  is  impossible 
to  resist  the  conviction,  that  the  seizure  of  California  had 
long  before  been  deliberately  planned,  and  that  the  inten 
tions  and  wishes  of  the  Government  had  been  fully  made 
known  to  the  officers,  the  plan  of  proceeding  agreed  on, 
and  the  squadron  stationed  off  the  Californian  ports,  await 
ing  news  from  the  Rio  Grande  as  a  signal  for  instantly 
seizing  and  securing  the  prize  for  which  the  war  was  to  be 
commenced  on  the  Rio  Grande. 
14 


158  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

DECLARATION    OF    WAR    AGAINST    MEXICO. 

THE  receipt  of  Taylor's  letter  of  the  26th  April,  relating 
to  the  capture  of  Thornton's  party  which  had,  as  we  have 
seen,  "  become  enyaged  "  with  the  Mexicans  by  attacking 
them,  gave  the  administration  its  first  intelligence  that  the 
march  to  the  Rio  Grande  had  led  to  its  intended  result. 
The  letter  reached  Washington  on  Saturday  the  9th  May. 
Its  contents  were  speedily  made  known,  and  on  Sunday 
evening  a  meeting  of  members  of  Congress,  partisans  of 
the  President,  was  held,  and  WAR  was  decided  on.*  On 
Monday  morning,  the  President  sent  a  war  message  to 
Congress,  which  from  its  lengthf  must  either  have  been 
written  on  the  day  devoted  by  the  Creator  to  holy  rest, 
or  else  prepared  some  time  before  in  anticipation  of  the 
success  of  Taylor's  mission.  In  this  message,  after  ad 
verting  in  the  usual  style  to  the  grievous  wrongs  perpe 
trated  by  Mexico  upon  our  citizens  throughout  a  long  pe 
riod  of  years,  he  closed  the  mournful  catalogue  by  an 
nouncing  to  the  representatives  of  the  nation,  "  MEXICO 
HAS  PASSED  THE  BOUNDARY  OF  THE  UxiTED  SlATES,  HAS 
INVADED  OUR  TERRITORY,  AND  SHED  AMERICAN  BLOOD  UPON 
THE  AMERICAN  SOIL.  SHE  HAS  PROCLAIMED  THAT  HOS 
TILITIES  HAVE  COMMENCED,  AND  THAT  THE  TWO  NATIONS 

*  Speech  of  C.  J.  Ingersoll.     App.  to  Cong.  Globe,  29th  Cong., 
2  Sess.,  p.  125. 

f  Occupying  six  pages  in  print. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  159 

ARE  AT  WAR."  "  I  invoke,"  said  Mr.  Polk,  "  the  prompt 
action  of  Congress  to  recognize  the  existence  of  the  war, 
and  to  place  at  the  disposition  of  the  Executive  the  means 
of  prosecuting  the  war  with  vigor,  and  thus  hastening  the 
restoration  of  peace  (/)"  Thus  emulous  was  this  gentle 
man  of  the  blessing  promised  to  the  peace-maker. 

Let  us  now  see  how  this  invocation  to  make  peace  by 
commencing  with  vigor  the  work  of  human  slaughter,  was 
received  by  the  American  Congress.  This  body  was  the 
grand  inquest  of  the  nation.  The  President  appeared  be 
fore  them  as  a  prosecuting  officer,  accusing  the  Govern 
ment  of  Mexico  of  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors,  and 
demanding  from  his  auditors  a  judgment  which  would  be 
equivalent  to  a  sentence  of  death  against  thousands  and 
tens  of  thousands  of  human  beings,  including  multitudes 
of  their  own  countrymen.  We  might  suppose  that  Con 
gress,  impressed  with  the  awful  responsibility  thus  im 
posed  upon  them,  would  apply  themselves  with  calm, 
patient,  and  prayerful  consideration  to  the  duty  before 
them  ;  that  they  would  rigidly  scrutinize  the  evidence 
submitted  to  them,  and  most  earnestly  seek  for  expe 
dients  to  rescue  their  own  and  a  neighboring  country  from 
the  tremendous  -calamities  impending  over  them.  They 
were  informed  by  the  President,  that  a  party  of  Ameri 
cans  and  Mexicans  had  "  become  engaged,"  and  sixteen  of 
the  former  had  been  killed  and  wounded.  Thus  a  colli 
sion  had  occurred.  But  such  a  collision  does  not  amount 
to  war.  A  British  frigate  had  some  years  since  assaulted 
an  American  national  ship,  killed  a  portion  of  her  crew, 
and  forcibly  impressed  another  portion.  No  war  ensued ; 
but  explanations  were  given,  and  redress  made.  Still 
later  an  American  steamboat  was  seized  in  our  own  waters 
by  a  British  force,  and  destroyed,  and  one  of  the  crew 


160  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

killed.  Still  no  war  ensued.  An  examination  of  the  tes 
timony  submitted  by  Mr.  Polk  might  possibly  show,  that 
the  recent  collision  was  accidental,  or  provoked  on  our 
part,  or  unauthorized  by  Mexico.  Explanations,  if  de 
manded,  misfit  lead  to  a  pacific  result,  and  the  effusion 
of  blood  be  prevented.  Of  all  crimes,  the  commence 
ment  of  an  unnecessary  war  is  the  most  atrocious,  the 
most  deserving*  the  wrath  of  God,  and  the  execration  of 
mankind. 

.Melancholy  and  humiliating  is  the  fact,  that  the  American 
Congress  passed  a  decree  which  they  knew  would  occa 
sion  wide-spread  wailing  and  lamentation,  and  woe  and 
death,  with  a  recklessness,  a  precipitation,  and  a  disregard 
of  evidence,  which  no  court  of  judicature  in  our  land 
would  dare  to  manifest  in  consigning  to  the  penitentiary  a 
man  charged  with  petit  larceny.  Shocking  as  is  such  an 
assertion,  its  truth  is  still  more  so.  The  Message  of  the 
President  was  accompanied  with  manuscript  copies  of  the 
correspondence  between  the  Government  and  Mr.  Slidell 
and  General  Taylor ;  and  this  correspondence  contained 
the  evidence  on  which  he  rested  his  momentous  charges 
against  Mexico ;  the  testimony  on  which  alone  Congress 
could  pronounce  on  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  the  charges. 
We  will  let  one  of  the  members  relate  the  proceedings  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  on  Monday  the  llth  May, 
1846,  on  the  receipt  of  the  message.  "It  was  proposed 
by  a  whig  member  (Mr.  Winthrop),  that  the  documents 
accompanying  the  Message  be  read.  By  a  strict  party 
vote  this  MOTION  WAS  REJECTED.  The  House  went  im 
mediately  into  a  committee  of  the  whole.  The  Commit 
tee  rose  in  a  very  short  time,  and  reported  a  bill  accord 
ing  to  the  President's  wishes.  The  previous  question 
(preventing  all  debate),  was  called  and  carried,  and  the 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  101. 

House  brought  to  a  vote,  without  one  word  of  explana 
tion,  proof,  or  argument  on  the  amendment  which  asserts 
the  existence  of  war  by  the  '  act  of  Mexico.'  On  this 
question  the  vote  stood — ayes  123,  to  07  noes.  The 
amendments  having  been  gone  through,  and  the  bill  en 
grossed,  the  question  came,  on  its  final  passage.  Again 
the  previous  question  was  moved  and  seconded  ;  and, 
after  some  ineffectual  efforts  on  the  part  of  various  mem 
bers  to  enter  their  protest  against  this  very  preamble,  the 
vote  was  forced  under  the  gag,  and  the  bill  carried  by 
ayes  174,  nays  14.  The  whole  proceeding  from  begin 
ning  to  end  occupied  but  a  small  portion  of  a  single  day. 
The  previous  question  was  applied  at  every  step  and  all 
debate,  explanation,  and  every  attempt  to  get  informa 
tion,  was  put  down  by  party  votes  of  the  dominant 
party. "*  In  the  Senate,  the  Message  was  referred  to  a 
Committee,  which  the  next  day,  instead  of  reporting  facts, 
contented  themselves  with  reporting  the  bill  from  the 
House,  and  this  was  passed  by  a  vote  of  50  to  2.  "  We 
had  not,"  said  Mr.  Calhoun,  alluding  to  this  precipitate 
action,  "  a  particle  of  evidence  that  the  Republic  of  Mexico 
had  made  war  against  the  United  States. "f  This  bill 
declaring  that  war  exists  by  the  act  of  Mexico,  placed 
the  army  and  navy  at  the  disposal  of  the  President,  pro 
vided  for  the  employment  of  fifty  thousand  volunteers, 
and  appropriated  ten  millions  of  dollars  for  the  prosecu 
tion  of  the  war.  Thus  was  a  system  of  human  butchery 
commenced  without  argument,  without  examination,  with- 

*  Speech  of  Mr.  Pendleton  of  Virginia,  22d  Feb.  1847.  See 
App.  to  Cong.  Globe,  29th  Cong.,  2  Sess.,  p  112. 

t  See  speech,  24th  Feb.,  1847.  Cong.  Globe,  27th  Feb.  1847. 
The  preamble  of  an  act  of  the  Mexican  Congress  raising  sup 
plies,  thus  repudiates  the  idea  that  the  war  was  commenced 
by  the  Republic  :  "  The  Mexican  nation  finds  itself  in  a  state  of 
•war  with  the  United  States  of  America." 

14* 


162  REMEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

out  listening  to  one  word  of  the  evidence  offered,  and 
without  even  the  pretence  of  a  desire  to  avoid  or  delay 
the  awful  calamity. 

Whatever  opinion  may  be  entertained  of  the  lawfulness 
of  defensive  war,  the  moral  sense  of  mankind,  irrespec 
tive  of  religious  creeds,  condemns  as  most  iniquitous  an 
offensive  and  aggressive  one.  Such  a  war  differs  from 
murder  and  robbery  only  in  the  stupendous  enormity  and 
extent  of  the  crime.  The  vast  military  power  and 
resources  confided  to  the  President,  were  to  be  employed 
not  in  enforcing  rights,  not  in  obtaining  redress  for  inju 
ries.  Congress  disclaimed,  by  their  acts  and  the  preamble 
of  their  bill,  all  idea  of  commencing  hostilities.  A  motion 
to  declare  war  was  rejected  by  an  overwhelming  majority.' 
It  was  deemed  expedient  to  declare,  that  it  already  existed 
by  the  act  of  Mexico,  thus  representing  to  the  nation  and 
the  world,  that  the  war  was  on  our  side  purely  a  defen 
sive  one,  undertaken  to  repel  an  invading  enemy. 

And  what  was  the  power  that  had  dared  to  invade  the 
United  States,  and  by  its  assault  had  thrown  this  great 
confederacy  into  such  imminent  danger,  that  Congress 
found  it  necessary  to  provide  fifty  thousand  troops  in 
addition  to  the  regular  army,  in  such  haste  as  not  to 
allow  them  time  even  to  read  the  despatch  ann-ouncing  the 
invasion  ?• 

The  Republic  of  Mexico  had  long  been  the  prey  of 
military  chieftains,  who,  in  their  struggles  for  power  and 
the  perpetual  revolutions  they  had  excited,  had  exhausted 
the  resources  of  the  country.  Without  money,  without 
credit,  without  a  single  frigate,  without  commerce,  with 
out  union,  and  with  a  feeble  population  of  seven  or  eight 
millions,  composed  chiefly  of  Indians  and  mixed  breeds, 
scattered  over  immense  regions,  and  for  the  most  part 
sunk  in  ignorance  and  sloth,  Mexico  was  certainly  not 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  1(J3 

a  very  formidable  enemy  to  the  United  States.*  It  was 
impossible  for  any  Mexican  force  to  reach  us  by  sea  ;  and 
to  reach  us  by  land,  her  armies  would  have  been  obliged 
to  cross  an  uninhabited  desert  nearly  two  hundred  miles 
in  breadth,  before  they  arrived  at  the  Nueces,  the  boun 
dary  of  Texas.  The  people  of  that  revolted  province  had 
for  years  maintained  their  independence  in  spite  of 
Mexico,  and  no  doubt  can  be  entertained  that  their  mili 
tia  were  amply  able  to  drive  back  any  army  Mexico  might 
send  into  her  territory.  There  was  not  a  female  in  our 
country  whose  slumbers  were  broken,  through  apprehen 
sion  of  the  pretended  invasion  of  the  United  States.  Not 
a  Mexican  soldier  had  trod  on  soil  owned  by  an  American 
citizen — not  a  shot  had  been  fired  within  a  hundred  miles 
of  an  American  dwelling. 

The  apparent  panic,  therefore;  under  which  Congress 
voted  fifty  thousand  additional  troops  for  defence,  was  not 
real  but  feigned.  The  war,  as  we  have  seen,  was  not 
commenced  to  recover  the  amount  of  our  claims,  and 
procure  redress  of  grievances,  but  avowedly  for  defence  ; 
a  motive  so  palpably  false  and  absurd,  that,  although 
officially  professed  by  the  President,  and  in  the  preamble 
of  the  Act  of  Congress,  but  one  single  member  of 
Congress,  it  is  believed,  had  the  hardihood  to  urge 
it  in  justification  of  his  vote.  The  true  object  of  the  war 

*  The  following  particulars  are  gathered  from  the  work  on 
Mexico,  by  Brantz  Mayer  : 

Population. 

Indians, 4,000,000 

Whites, 1,000,000 

Negroes, 6,000 

All  other  casts,  -  2,009,509 


7,015,509 
Exports  from  Mexico  in  1842,  exclusive  of 

Gold  and  Silver, $1 ,500,000 

National  debt, 85,000,000 

— "  Mexico  as  it  was,  and  as  it  is,'* 


164  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

was  thus  frankly  stated  by  Mr.  C.  J.  Ingersoll,  as  Chair 
man  of  the  Committee  of  Foreign  Relations,  in  a  report 
he  presented  February,  1847  :  "  Complaints  of  the  resort 
to  territorial  conquests  from  Mexico  are  disarmed  of 
reproach  by  the  undeniable  facts,  that  Mexico,  by  war, 
constrains  the  United  States  to  take  by  conquest  what, 
ever  since  the  Mexican  independence,  every  American 
administration  has  been  striving  to  get  by  purchase ;  and 
that  the  executive  orders,  and  military  and  naval  execu 
tion  of  them  for  the  achievement  of  conquest,  have  con 
formed  not  merely  to  the  long  established  policy  of  our 
Government  but  wise  principles  of  self-preservation  indis 
pensable  to  all  provident  Government."  This  official 
language  of  the  report  was  but  a  repetition  of  sentiments 
advanced  by  the  chairman,  in  a  speech  in  the  House,  19th 
January,  1847  :  "War  as  often  waged,"  said  Mr.  Inger 
soll,  "  is  a  theme  of  copious  lamentation ;  and  so  it  should 
be.  But  what  the  old  women  of  both  sexes  are  given  to 
deplore  as  the  calamities  of  war,  where  have  they  been 
yet  felt  in  these  hostilities  with  Mexico  ?  Never  was  the 
country  more  prosperous,  or  so  powerful  as  at  present.  I 
mean  to  show  unanswerably  that  all  parties  in  the  United 
States,  all  administrations  of  this  Government  since 
Mexico  ceased  to  be  a  Spanish  Province,  have  united  in 
the  policy  of  getting  from  her  by  fair  means  precisely 
those  territories  which,  and  only  which,  she  has  now  con 
strained  us  to  take  by  force,  though  even  yet  we  are  dis 
posed  to  pay  for  them,  not  by  blood  merely,  but  by 
money  too."*  v  In  other  words,  if  Mexico  will  yet  consent 
to  sell  us  these  coveted  territories — at  our  own  price,  we 
will  cease  to  murder  her  citizens  in  order  to  acquire  them. 
This  avowal  explained  the  extreme  and  apparently  ludi 
crous  solicitude  expressed  by  Mr.  Polk  for  peace.  The 
*  App.  to  Cong.  Globe,  1847,  p.  125. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  165 

war  being  waged  solely  for  territory,  the  more  vigorously 
it  was  prosecuted,  the  sooner  would  Mexico  be  compelled 
to  purchase  peace  by  making  the  desired  cession.  The 
dismemberment  of  another,  not  the  defence  of  its  own 
country,  was  the  object  of  the  American  Government. 
Why  such  dismemberment  was  desired,  will  be  seen 
in  the  sequel. 

The  object  we  have  assigned  for  the  war,  does  not 
explain  why  of  two  hundred  and  forty  members  of  Con 
gress,  only  sixteen  were  found  who  voted  against  a  bill 
containing  in  its  preamble  an  assertion  unsupported  by 
proof,  and  appropriating  great  supplies  for  defence  when 
no  danger  threatened. 

Few,  if  any,  of  the  Northern  members  had  a  direct 
interest  in  the  conquest  of  California ;  but  all  were  inter 
ested  in  the  ascendency  of  one  or  the  other  of  the  two 
great  political  parties.  Mr.  Polk  and  his  Cabinet  were 
the  leaders  and  representatives  of  the  democratic  party, 
and  the  dispensers  of  the  vast  patronage  wielded  by  the 
Federal  Government.  To  vote  against  the  war  would 
have  been,  in  the  democratic  members,  an  act  of  rebellion 
against  their  own  party,  and  an  exclusion  of  themselves 
for  the  future  from  all  participation  in  the  favors  of  the 
administration.  It  would,  moreover,  alienate  the  South 
ern  Democrats  from  their  Northern  brethren,  and  by  the 
division  thus  occasioned  would  most  probably,  at  the  next 
elections,  transfer  the  political  power  of  the  nation,  with 
all  its  emoluments,  into  the  hands  of  the  rival  party. 
Not  a  solitary  democratic  vote  in  either  House  was  given 
against  the  war. 

The  Whig  party  was  placed  under  very  different  cir 
cumstances.  They  were  in  the  minority,  and  were  striv 
ing  to  gain  the  seats  occupied  by  the  present  incumbents. 
Hence  it  was  their  policy  to  cast  the  utmost  odium  upon 


166  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

the  administration,  and  to  represent  its  measures  as  un 
wise  and  dishonest,  and  injurious  alike  to  the  interests 
and  the  morals  of  the  country.  Hence  no  denunciations 
of  the  course  by  which  the  administration  had  involved 
the  nation  in  the  calamaties  of  war,  were  too  violent  or 
too  unmeasured.  The  conduct  of  Mr.  Polk,  in  particular, 
was  all  that  was  false,  base,  and  wicked.  The  war  was 
the  President's  war  ;  and  the  assertion,  that  it  was  the  act 
of  Mexico,  a  palpable  falsehood.  But  the  multitude  are 
ever  fascinated  with  military  glory,  and  ever  ready  to 
enjoy  the  spoils  of  war.  It  was,  therefore,  deemed  most 
politic  to  make  a  distinction  between  the  war  and  its  au 
thors.  The  latter  were,  if  possible,  to  be  hurled  from 
office  for  commencing  an  iniquitous  war ;  but  the  patriot 
ism  of  the  Whig  party  was  to  be  manifested  in  their 
vigorous  prosecution  of  this  same  iniquitous  Avar,  for  the 
glory  of  the  nation.  Had  the  Whigs  voted  against  sup 
plies  after  they  were  told  that  war  existed,  they  might 
have  been  charged  at  the  polls  with  dereliction  to  the 
cause  of  their  country.  It  was,  therefore,  deemed  more  ex 
pedient  to  concur  in  sending  fifty  thousand  men  to  rob 
Mexico,  and  murder  her  citizens,  than  to  hazard  the  loss 
of  votes  at  the  approaching  elections.  The  excuse  gene 
rally  made  by  the  Whigs  for  supporting  the  war  bill  was, 
that  General  Taylor  and  his  army  were  in  danger  of  being 
destroyed  or  captured  by  the  Mexicans.  The  excuse 
was  not  only  false,  but  it  was  palpably  ridiculous.  The 
very  despatch  in  which  Taylor  announced  that  hostili 
ties  had  commenced,  demonstrated  his  entire  security. 
After  stating  the  calls  he  had  made  on  the  governors  of 
Texas  anj  Louisiana  for  troops,  he  adds,  "  This  will  con 
stitute  an  auxiliary  force  of  nearly  five  thousand  rnen, 
which  will  be  necessary  to  prosecute  the  war  with  energy, 
and  carry  it,  as  it  should  be.  into  the  enemy's  country" 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  167 

So  that,  at  the  very  moment  he  wrote,  instead  of  being  in 
danger  of  captivity,  he  was  making  preparations  for  ad 
vancing  into  Mexico,  and  for  this  purpose,  he  deemed  one- 
tenth  of  the  force  so  liberally  allowed  him  by  the  Whigs, 
amply  sufficient.  Seven  days  after  the  fifty  thousand 
men  had  been  voted,  Taylor,  without  even  waiting  for  the 
five  thousand  for  which  he  had  called,  entered  the  city  of 
Metamoras,  the  Mexican  army  flying  before  him. 

But  had  Taylor  indeed  been  in  danger,  the  Whigs  well 
knew  that  his  fate  would  be  decided  long  before  a  corpo 
ral's  guard  raised  under  the  act  could  possibly  reach  him. 
They  were,  moreover,  told  by  the  President  himself,  in 
his  Message,  that  Taylor  was  authorized  to  call  for  and 
accept  volunteers  from  no  less  than  six  of  the  nearest 
States.  The  Administration,  foreseeing  and  intending  the 
war,  had  already,  without  any  authority  from  Congress, 
most  amply  provided  for  Taylor's  security.  Well  was  it 
said  on  the  floor  of  Congress,  in  reply  to  this  pitiful  apolo 
gy,  "  Compare  the  provisions  of  the  bill  with  the  object 
avowed  of  affording  relief  to  General  Taylor  and  his 
army ;  and  what  a  picture  does  it  present  ?  The  bill 
provides  that  the  militia,  army,  and  navy  of  the  United 
States,  together  with  fifty  thousand  volunteers,  shall  be 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  President  for  the  purpose  of 
prosecuting  the  war  to  a  speedy  and  successful  termination. 
Thus  upon  the  face  of  the  bill  is  its  object  clearly,  dis 
tinctly,  and  explicitly  set  forth  and  declared."  The  asser 
tion,  therefore,  made  by  the  Whigs,  that  their  vote  was 
given  for  the  protection  of  General  Taylor,  is  of  a  similar 
character  Avith  that  which  they  so  bitterly  denounced  in 
the  preamble  of  the  bill,  that  war  existed  by  the  act  of 
Mexico.  Their  apology  for  voting  for  this  assertion,  which 
they  acknowledged  to  be  a  falsehood,  was,  that  they  had 
frst  voted  against  it.  However  consistent  such  an  apology 


168  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

may  be  with  the  morals  of  politics,  it  will  certainly  not  be 
deemed  satisfactory  by  those  who  regard  the  Scriptures  as 
the  standard  of  ethics.  The  vote  of  the  Whig  members 
was  probably  the  most  extraordinary  and  humiliating  ex 
hibition  of  moral  cowardice  ever  witnessed  in  the  national 
Legislature  ;  nor  did  it  escape  exposure  and  castigation. 
Sarcasms  and  reproaches,  which  it  was  impossible  to  elude 
or  to  answer,  were  showered  upon  the  Whig  members 
without  stint  by  their  opponents.  The  following  is  a 
sample  of  the  rebukes  they  received :  Mr.  Brocken- 
borough  of  Florida  thus  exposed  the  false  and  unhappy 
position  in  which  the  Whigs  had  placed  themselves  by 
their  unscrupulous  calculations  of  expediency — "The 
very  term  '  unjust  war'  involves  rapine  and  bloodshed, 
robbery  and  murder.  Every  step  is  infamous,  a  crime  for 
which  the  country  should  shroud  itself  in  mourning.  But 
you  rejoice  and  glory  in  it.  You  send  forth  the  poor 
soldier,  for  whom  you  affect  such  sympathy,  and  tell  him 
to  slay — but  it  is  murder  :  to  fall  fighting  valiantly — but 
it  is  a  felon's  death.  You  bid  the  American  mother  send 
forth  her  child  at  her  country's  call,  to  stain  himself  with 
crime — to  return  a  robber,  red  and  reeking  with  innocent 
blood.  You  call  your  soldiers  heroes,  and  write  on  their 
monuments  '  rapine,  murder.'  You  vote  swords  and 
thanks,  and  medals  and  land,  and  money  and  pensions, 
for  what  you  say  is  crime ;  and  crime  so  black  that  indi 
viduals  committing  it,  without  your  sanction,  receive  only 
ignominy,  a  prison,  or  a  halter. 

"  We  (democrats)  believe,  before  God  and  the  world, 
that  the  war  is  just  on  our  part.  If  we  err,  we  err  after 
full  deliberation  and  argument,  with  the  best  judgment 
Heaven  has  vouchsafed  to  us,  in  the  belief  that  we  are 
discharging  a  patriotic  duty  redounding  to  the  honor  and 
character  of  our  country.  If  there  is  anv  infamy — any 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  169 

crime,  it  is  not  ours.  Gentlemen  claim  it  all.  We  have 
no  intention  of  wickedness.  We  act  throughout  as  we 
profess.  But  you  declare  war  and  denounce  it  as  infamous, 
but  vote  all  supplies,  and  urge  its  vigorous  prosecution. 
You  preach  that  it  is  murder,  and  boast  how  many  Whigs 
there  are  in  it — how  many  friends,  how  many  constituents 
you  have  in  it,  who  volunteered  to  go. 

"You  charge  that  it  is  a  crime,  and  complain  that 
more  Democrats  than  Whigs  have  been  appointed  to 
carry  on  the  villainy,  and  speak  of  the  chief  man  in  the 
gang  (General  Taylor)  for  the  Presidency.  You  vote 
monuments  to  the  dead — trophies,  thanks,  emoluments, 
bounties  to  the  living — to  entice  people  to  imbrue  their 
hands  in  blood — in  infamy. 

"  If  this  war  is  unjust,  gentlemen  are  not  absolved  by 
the  cry  of  '  Mr.  Folk's  war.'  They  voted  for  it.  Declama 
tion  against  Mr.  Polk  will  not  screen  them  from  their  own 
denunciations  of  the  horror,  the  sin,  and  crime,  and  mur 
der,  of  unjust  war.  If  crime  and  infamy,  the  record 
bears  conviction  of  the  actors  upon  its  face,  and  there  it 
will  stand,  indelible  and  imperishable,  as  the  Republic  itself 
It  will  adhere,  like  the  shirt  of  Nessus,  to  its  authors. 
Like  the  garment  Media  wove  for  Jason,  it  will  cleave  and 
burn  into  the  flesh  until  they  perish.  Enhancing  the 
crime,  they  only  invoke  more  fearful  punishment  upon 
themselves." 

Rarely,  indeed,  has  any  deliberative  body  listened  to 
sarcasm  so  withering,  or  invective  so  powerful  and  so  just. 

Still  the  leaders  of  the  Whig  party  in  Congress  clung 
with  fearless  tenacity  to  a  policy  which,  although  immoral, 
they  believed  to  be  advantageous.  They  continued  through 
the  whole  existence  of  the  war  to  denounce  it  as  unjust, 
wicked,  and  unconstitutional,  but  nevertheless  evinced 
their  patriotism,  by  voting  the  supplies  required  by  the 
15 


170  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN'    WAR. 

President  for  ensuring  a  criminal  triumph.  It  is,  how 
ever,  due  to  the  party  at  large  to  acknowledge,  that  its 
submission,  especially  >at  the  fs'orth,  to  this  policy  of  its 
leaders,  was  partial  and  reluctant.  The  American  Review, 
a  very  able  journal  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  party, 
thus  honorably  confessed  and  condemned  the  motives 
which  actuated  the  Whig  members  of  Congress  who  voted 
for  the  wrar  •.  "  The  vote  for  fifty  thousand  volunteers  and 
ten  millions  of  dollars  was  all  but  unanimous.  The  reso 
lution  asking  for  these  means  were  preceded  by  a  lying 
preamble,  which  imputed  the  war  to  the  act  of  Mexico. 
The  resolution,  preamble  and  all,  was  eagerly  swallowed. 
So  much  more  solicitous  seemed  even  the  Whigs  about 
personal  popularity,  which  might  be  jeoparded  by  wrhat 
would  be  represented  as  an  abandonment  of  the  cause  of 
a  gallant  but  beleaguered  army,  in  refusing  or  delaying  to 
vote  for  this  bill,  than  for  the  cause  of  TRUTH  and  RIGHT." 

The  Whig  Legislature  of  Massachusetts  emphatically 
rebuked  the  course  pursued  by  some  of  the  Whig  repre 
sentatives  from  that  State  in  Congress,  by  adopting  a 
resolution  declaring  :  "  That  such  a  war  of  conquest,  so 
hateful  in  its  objects,  so  wanton,  unjust,  and  unconstitu 
tional  in  its  origin  and  character,  must  be  regarded  as  a 
war  against  freedom,  against  humanity,  against  justice, 
against  the  Union,  and  against  the  free  States  ;  and  that 
a  regard  for  the  true  interests  and  highest  honor  of  the 
country,  not  less  than  the  impulses  of  Christian  duty, 
should  arouse  all  good  citizens  to  join  in  efforts  to  arrest 
this  war,  and  in  every  just  way  aiding  the  country  to 
retire  from  the  position  of  aggression  which  it  now  occu 
pies  towards  a  weak,  distracted  neighbor  and  sister  Re 
public." 

That  only  sixteen  members  out  of  two  hundred  and 
forty  should  have  voted  against  the  war,  while  a  very 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  171 

large  minority  admitted  its  injustice,  and  the  falsehood  of 
the  assertion  that  it  had  been  commenced  by  Mexico,  is  a 
melancholy  proof  that  moral  courage  and  independence 
were  not  characteristics  of  the  American  Congress  of 
184C.  And  yet  these  qualities  invariably  attract  confid 
ence,  esteem,  and  influence,  even  from  those  against  whom 
they  are  exercised.  "  I  admire,"  said  one  of  the  leaders 
of  the  war  party,  "  I  admire  the  sincerity,  I  reverence 
the  consistency  of  the  immortal  FOURTEEN  (in  the  House 
of  Representatives)  who  voted  against  the  declaration  of 
war.  Their  judgment  was  convinced  that  the  war  was 
wrong,  and  they  voted  as  their  judgment  dictated.  They 
violated  the  laws  neither  of  God  nor  of  man.  But  he 
who  denounces  the  war  as  unjust,  and  yet  votes  for  it, 
violates  God's  holy  law  and  every  principle  of  ethics." 
Let  the  names  of  these  honest,  consistent  men,  who  feared 
God  more  than  man,  and  looked  rather  to  the  Day  of 
Judgment  than  to  the  day  of  election,  be  borne  upon  the 
affectionate  remembrance  of  the  Christian  community. 
They  were : 

SENATE.* 

Thomas  Clayton,      ....     Delaware. 
John  Davis, Massachusetts. 

HOUSE    OF    REPRESENTATIVES. 

John  Quiucy  Adams,     .     . 
George  Ashmun,       .     .     . 


Joseph  Grinnel], 


Massachusetts. 


Charles  Hudson,       .     .     . 

Daniel  P.  King,        .     .     . 

Henry  T.  Cranston,       .     .     .     Rhode  Island. 

Erastus  D.  Culver,  ....     New  York. 

*  It  is  due  to  justice  to  mention,  that  Mr.  Corwin,  a  Senator 
from  Ohio,  afterwards  publicly  condemned  and  regretted  the 
vote  he  had  given  for  the  war. 


172 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 


Luther  Severance,  . 

John  Strahan,      .  . 
Columbus  Delano, 

Joseph  M.  Root,  .  , 
Daniel  R.  Tilden, 

Joseph  Vance,      .  , 
Joshua  R.  Giddings, 


.     Maine. 

.     Pennsylvania. 


>0hio. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  173 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

THE    WAR   PROSECUTED    FOR   CONQUEST. 

IN  utter  disregard  of  the  multiplied  proofs  to  the  con 
trary,  Mr.  Polk  thought  it  expedient,  in  his  Message  to 
Congress  of  the  8th  December,  1846,  to  hazard  the  ex 
traordinary  assertion,  "  THE  WAR  HAS  NOT  BEEIJ  WAGED 
WITH  A  VIEW  TO  CONQUEST"  !  He  added,  "  But  having 
been  commenced  by  Mexico,  it  has  been  carried  into  the 
enemy's  country,  and  will  be  there  vigorously  prosecuted, 
with  a  view  to  obtain  an  honorable  peace,  and  thereby 
secure  ample  indemnity  for  the  expenses  of  the  war,  as 
well  as  to  our  much-injured  citizens,  who  hold  large 
pecuniary  demands  against  Mexico."  We  have  seen  Mr. 
Polk's  early  and  persevering  efforts  to  secure  California, 
and  his  official  declaration,  in  the  instructions  to  Stockton, 
that  he  could  foresee  no  contingency  in  which  the  United 
States  would  ever  surrender  or  relinquish  that  province. 
What  abuse  of  language  can  be  greater  than  to  fight  for 
territory  with  the  declared  intention  of  holding  it  for 
ever,  and  yet  to  pretend  that  we  fight  not  for  conquest 
but  indemnity  ?  But,  independent  of  this  most  wretched 
quibbling  about  a  word,  let  us  pause  for  a  moment  to 
consider  the  avowal  made  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States  to  a  Christian  people.  It  is  no  longer  pretended 
that  the  war  is  one  of  defence.  We  are,  it  seems,  to  con 
tinue  fighting  till  we  are  paid  for  our  trouble  in  slaugh 
tering.  We  killed  Mexicans  on  the  Rio  Grande;  but, 
receiving  no  pay,  we  bombarded  Vera  Cruz,  and  killed 
15* 


174  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

more.  This  swelled  our  demand  for  compensation.  Not 
receiving  it,  we  marched  hundreds  of  miles  to  the  City  of 
Mexico,  and  killed  some  thousands  more.  This  added 
another  and  a  heavy  item  to  our  bill ;  and  thus  we  were 
to  proceed,  spreading  misery  and  death,  till  we  were  fully 
indemnified  for  the  money,  and  trouble,  and  blood,  we 
had  expended  in  filling  a  sister  Republic  with  wailing, 
and  lamentation,  and  woe.  The  idea  of  thus  killing  other 
people,  and  sacrificing  the  lives  of  our  own  citizens,  for 
the  purpose  of  getting  pay  for  fighting,  is  original  with 
Mr.  Polk ;  at  least,  he  finds  no  precedent  for  such  policy 
in  the  history  of  his  own  country.  Our  revolutionary 
fathers  rejoiced  to  lay  down  their  arms  the  moment  the 
object  for  which  they  had  been  taken  was  accomplished. 
Not  a  voice  was  heard  recommending  a  continuance  of 
hostilities  till  Great  Britain  indemnified  us  for  fighting  her 
the  last  seven  years.  In  1815,  we  again  rejoiced  in  mak 
ing  peace  with  Great  Britain,  without  asking  any  indem 
nity  for  killing  Englishmen,  capturing  British  vessels,  and 
carrying  the  war  into  Canada.  It  is  only  poor,  feeble, 
exhausted  Mexico,  who  must  bleed  on,  till  she  pays  us 
for  letting  blood. 

But  we  are  to  continue  the  work  of  slaughter,  not  only 
till  we  are  paid  for  our  powder  and  shot,  <fec.,  but  also 
till  Mexico  discharges  a  debt  of  a  few  millions,  which  she 
is  said  to  owe  certain  of  our  citizens.  And  thus,  at  a  day 
when  it  is  deemed  inhuman  even  to  imprison  an  insolvent, 
Mr.  Polk  recommends  that  Mexican  bonds  shall  be  steep 
ed  in  human  gore,  and  that  we  shall  proceed  to  collect 
our  debts  by  murdering  the  debtors.  And  all  this  to 
indemnify  our  "  much-injured  citizens."  But  how  will 
Mr.  Polk  indemnify  the  vast  multitude  of  women  and 
children  whom  his  policy  has  made  widows  and  orphans  ? 
What  tariff  will  he  establish  for  broken  hearts  and  blasted 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  175 

hopes  ?  What  indemnity  would  he  claim  from  Mexico 
for  all  the  crimes  and  blasphemies,  for  all  the  horrors  of 
the  hospital  and  the  battle-field,  for  all  the  desolation  and 
misery  in  this  life,  and  in  that  which  is  to  come,  engen 
dered  by  the  war  ? 

In  justice  to  Mr.  Polk,  we  acquit  him  of  the  horrible 
atrocity  of  wishing  to  continue  the  slaughter  of  the  Mexi 
cans  for  compensation  for  the  cost  of  killing  them,  and  of 
the  consummate  folly  of  expending  a  hundred  millions  of 
dollars  in  collecting  three  or  four  of  alleged  debt.  Poli 
ticians  often  think  it  wise  to  conceal  their  real  motives  by 
assigning  false  ones.  The  war  was  to  be  continued,  not 
to  obtain  a  reimbursement  of  its  expenses,  not  to  collect  a 
paltry  debt,  but  solely  for  CONQUEST.  We  have  already 
seen  that  it  was  the  President's  determination  to  annex 
California  to  the  Union.  Let  us  now  listen  to  a  few  of 
the  frank  avowals  of  the  partisans  of  the  war  in  Congress. 

Mr.  STANTON,  of  Tennessee,  declared  that,  "The  an 
nexation  of  California  to  the  United  States,  was  the  great 
measure  of  the  age."* 

Mr.  BEDINGER,  of  Virginia — "  Was  this  to  be  a  war  of 
conquest  ?  He  answered,  yes  ;  trusting  in  Heaven,  and 
on  the  valor  of  their  arms,  this  should  be  a  war  of  CON 
QUEST."! 

Mr.  SEYIER,  of  Arkansas,  speaking  of  the  territories  to 
be  acquired  from  Mexico,  observed,  "He  supposed  no 
Senator  would  think  that  they  ought  to  be  less  than  New 
Mexico  and  Upper  California.  He  did  not  suppose  that 
a  treaty  of  peace  with  less  than  this  would  ever  pass  that 
body."! 

Mr.  GILES,  of  Maryland — "  I  take  it  for  granted,  that 
we  shall  gain  territory,  and  must  gain  territory,  before  we 

*  Cong.  Globe,  10th  Dec.,  1846,  p.  23. 
f  Cong.  Globe,  6th  Jan.,  1847,  p.  126. 
J  €ong.  Globe,  2d  Feb..  1847,  p.  306. 


176  RBVIF.Yv     OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

shut  the  gates  of  the  temple  of  Janus.  We  must  have  it, 
Every  consideration  of  national  policy  calls  upon  us  to  se 
cure  it.  We  must  march  right  out  from  ocean  to  ocean. 
We  must  fulfil  what  the  American  poet  has  said  of  us, 
from  one  end  of  this  confederacy  to  the  other, 

'  The  broad  Pacific  chafes  our  strand, 
We  hear  the  wide  Atlantic  roar.' 

We  must  march  from  Texas  straight  to  the  Pacific 
ocean,  and  be  bounded  only  by  its  roaring  wave.  We 
must  admit  no  other  government  to  any  partition  of  this 
great  territory.  It  is  the  destiny  of  the  white  race,  it  is 
the  destiny  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  ;  and,  if  they  fail  to 
perform  it,  they  will  not  come  up  to  that  high  position 
which  Providence,  in  his  mighty  government  has  assigned 
them."* 

In  January,  1847,  a  resolution  was  offered  in  the  House 
of  Representatives,  declaring  that  the  war  "  is  not  waged 
with  a  view  to  conquest ;"  but  the  House  was  too  candid 
to  endorse  the  words  of  the  President,  and  rejected  the 
resolution.  In  the  same  Session,  it  also  rejected,  by  a 
vote  of  126  to  76,  the  following  amendment  proposed  to 
the  supply  bill,  viz. ;  "Provided  farther,  that  these  appro 
priations  are  made  with  no  view  of  sanctioning  any  prose 
cution  of  the  existing  Avar  with  Mexico  for  the  acquisition 
of  territory  to  form  new  States  to  be  added  to  the  Union, 
or  for  the  dismemberment  of  Mexico." 

These  disclaimers  of  all  intention  of  making  conquests 
came  from  the  Whigs,  who  were  unmeasured  in  their  de 
nunciations  of  Mr.  Folk's  obvious  policy. 

In  his  next  message  of  December,  1847,  that  gentleman 
adroitly  revenged  himself  upon  his  opponents,  by  remind 
ing  Congress,  that  only  sixteen  members  had  voted  against 
the  war  ;  and  that  Congress,  including,  of  course,  the  Whig 
members  with  the  exception  of  the  sixteen,  "  could  not 
*  Cong.  Globe,  llth  Fob..  1847.  p.  387. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  177 

have  meant,  when  in  May,  1846,  they  appropriated  ten 
millions  of  dollars,  and  authorized  the  President  to  em 
ploy  the  military  and  naval  forces  of  the  United  States, 
and  to  accept  the  services  of  FIFTY  THOUSAND  volunteers 
to  enable  him  to  prosecute  the  war ;  and  when  at  their 
last  Session,  and  after  our  army  had  invaded  Mexico, 
they  made  additional  appropriations,  and  authorized  the 
raising  of  additional  troops  for  the  same  purpose — that 
no  indemnity  was  to  be  obtained  from  Mexico  at  the  con 
clusion  of  the  war."  It  was  impossible  for  the  Whigs  to 
elude  the  force  of  this  sarcasm.  If  the  war  "  was  not 
waged  with  a  view  to  conquest,"  with  what  view  did  they 
vote  for  an  army  of  fifty  thousand  men  ? 

Puerile  as  is  the  distinction  made  by  Mr.  Polk  between 
conquest  and  territorial  indemnity,  it  appears  from  his  own 
showing,  that  it  is  a  distinction  without  a  difference  ;  a 
mere  quibble  on  words.  The  President,  informing  Con 
gress  what  territories  he  had  claimed  of  Mexico  as  condi- 
tions^of  peace,  remarks,  "  as  the  territory  to  be  acquired 
by  the  boundary  proposed,  might  be  estimated  to  be  of 
greater  value  than  a  fair  equivalent  for  our  just  demands, 
our  Commissioner  was  authorized  to  stipulate  for  the  pay 
ment  of  such  additional  pecuniary  consideration  as  was 
deemed  reasonable."  Here  we  see  that  Mr.  Polk  meant 
to  take  more  territory,  than  he  even  pretends  we  are  enti 
tled  to  for  indemnification.  And  how  did  he  mean  to  ac 
quire  it  ?  By  conquest  ?  Oh  no,  but  by  a  forced  sale, 
negotiated  by  a  Commissioner  at  the  head  of  a  victorious 
army,  ready  to  enter  the  city  of  Mexico  ;  and  for  this  sur 
plus  territory  he  would  pay  such  a  price  as  he  deemed 
reasonable,  and,  if  the  Mexicans  refused  to  make  the  bar 
gain  on  his  terms,  they  refused  at  the  peril  of  their  lives, 
and  the  loss  of  their  capital ;  their  blood  was  to  flow, 
till  they  accepted,  for  territory  to  which  we  had  no  just 
claims,  the  price  we  might  please  to  pay. 


178  REVIEW    OF    THF.    MEXICAN    WAR. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

EXTENT    OF    TERRITORY    REQUIRED    FROM    MEXICO. 

WE  have  already  admitted  that  Mr.  Folk's  frequent  and 
earnest  asseverations  of  his  desire  for  peace  were  sincere. 
because  in  his  mind  the  term  peace  included  the  acquisi 
tion  of  all  the  territory  he  wanted.  The  peace  he  desired, 
was  not  a  just,  and  therefore  an  honorable  one,  but  a  bold, 
rapacious  spoliation.  If  we  use  strong  terms,  it  is  because 
they  are  warranted  by  strong  facts.  After  we  had  obtain 
ed  military  occupation  of  the  country  on  the  Rio  Grande 
and  all  the  sea-ports  on  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  ;  after 
the  Mexican  armies  had  been  routed  in  three  general  en 
gagements  ;  after  the  efforts  of  the  Mexicans  had  failed 
to  protect  their  capital,  and  General  Scott  was  ready  to 
enter  its  gates,  peace  was  again  offered  Mexico.  In  the 
time,  place,  and  terms  of  this  offer,  we  can  see  no  indica 
tion  of  generosity,  no  desire  for  justice,  no  feeling  of 
honor.  Mexico,  utterly  prostrated,  could  obviously  make 
no  successful  resistance,  and  it  was  certainly  within  the 
power  of  the  United  States  to  take  military  possession  not 
merely  of  the  capital,  but  of  every  city  and  strong  place 
in  the  republic.  Such,  however,  was  not  the  desire  or 
the  interest  of  the  Administration,  or  of  the  country.  To 
hold  the  entire  of  Mexico  by  force  of  arms,  would  occasion 
a,n  expenditure  of  treasure  and  an  imposition  of  taxes 
which  would  soon  hurl  Mr.  Polk  and  his  partisans  from 
office.  Nor  would  a  continuance  of  the  war  give  us  that 
quit-claim  to  the  coveted  territories  which  was  required. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  179 

to  enable  us  to  convert  them  witli  facility  into  slaveh old- 
ing  States  with  a  representation  in  Congress.  The  object 
of  the  war  could  be  most  advantageously  obtained  by  a 
treaty  of  peace,  giving  us  undisputed  possession  of  New 
Mexico  and  California.  Hence  the  desire  for  peace  ;  and 
the  prostrate  condition  of  Mexico  induced  the  hope  that 
she  would  be  compelled  to  make  the  cession  we  de 
manded.  And  what  was  that  cession  ?  Why,  all  the 
territory  between  the  Nueces  and  the  Rio  Grande,  toge 
ther  with  the  whole  of  New  Mexico,  and  all  California, 
both  Upper  and  Lower !  An  inspection  of  the  map  of 
Mexico  will  show  that  these  demands,  exclusive  of  Texas 
proper,  are  estimated  at  upwards  of  eight  hundred  thou 
sand  square  miles,  while  the  whole  area  of  the  Republic 
is  supposed  to  contain  one  million  six  hundred  thousand. 
Thus  did  Mr.  Polk  seek  for  a  "just  and  honorable  peace" 
in  the  seizure  of  one  half  of  Mexico  !* 

Such  was  the  territorial  indemnity  we  attempted  to 
extort  from  a  vanquished  and  almost  unresisting  enemy. 
Napoleon,  in  the  career  of  conquest,  never  indulged  in 
wilder  rapacity.  Mexico,  humbled  and  disabled,  offered 
to  cede  all  Texas  proper,  beyond  the  Nueces,  and  all  of 
New  Mexico  and  California  North  of  the  37th  degree  of 
latitude  ;  an  extent  of  territory  equal  to  nine  States  of  the 
size  of  New  York  !  JJt  is  true,  that  in  the  Mexican  projet 
of  a  treaty  containing  this  proposed  cession,  there  was  a 
stipulation  for  compensation  for  injuries  done  by  the  Ame 
rican  troops,  a  mere  matter  of  discussion,  but  not  repre 
sented  as  a  $ine  qua  non.J  The  negotiation  was  broken 
off  not  on  account  of  that  or  other  exceptionable  proposals, 
but  because  Mexico  refused  to  cede  the  whole  of  New 

*  These  estimates  are  taken  from  an  official  statement  of  the 
areas  of  the  different  provinces,  published  by  the  Mexican 
Government,  and  attached  to  Disturnell's  map  of  Mexico. 


180  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

Mexico  and  California.  Mr.  Polk,  in  his  Message  to  Con 
gress,  declared,  "  the  boundary  of  the  Rio  Grande,  and 
the  cession  of  the  States  of  New  Mexico  and  Upper  Cali 
fornia  constituted  an  ULTIMATUM  which  our  Commissioner 
was  under  no  circumstances  to  yield."  It  may  seem 
strange  that  Mr.  Polk  refused  to  accept  the  proffered  ces 
sion.  The  solution  is  easy,  and  will  be  given  in  the  sub 
sequent  chapter. 


REVIEW   OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  181 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

MOTIVE  FOR  ACQUIRING  TERRITORY. THE   WILMOT   PROVISO. 

THE  possessions  of  the  United  States  extended  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  from  the  49th  to  the  30th 
degree  of  latitude.  Independent  of  the  thirty  States, 
comprising  the  Federal  Union,  the  national  territories  em 
braced  1,335,398  square  miles — an  area  equal  to  about 
half  of  all  Europe.  The  American  Republic,  anterior  to 
the  Mexican  war,  possessed  one  of  the  largest  regions  in 
the  world  under  one  Government,  and  at  the  same  time 
one  of  the  most  thinly  inhabited.  It  will  not,  therefore, 
be  pretended,  that  additional  territory  was  required  for 
the  convenience  of  our  population.  It  is  said  a  port  was 
wanted  on  the  Pacific.  The  portion  of  California  north 
of  the  37th  degree  of  latitude,  which  Mexico  offered  to 
cede,  contains  the  harbor  of  St.  Francisco,  the  best  and 
most  capacious  on  the  Pacific.  Mr.  Polk  had  officially 
declared,  that  our  title  to  the  whole  of  Oregon  was  "  clear 
and  unquestionable ;"  yet,  with  the  consent  of  southern 
Senators,  he  surrendered  to  Great  Britain  no  less  than  5° 
40'  of  what  he  insisted  was  territory  belonging  to  the 
United  States.  Why  give  away  northern  territory  which 
is  ours,  and  lavish  blood  and  treasure  for  the  conquest  of 
southern  territory  to  which  we  have  no  title  ?  It  was 
known,  that  from  natural  and  other  causes,  slavery  would 
be  for  ever  excluded  from  the  territory  yielded  to  Great 
Britain,  but  would  find  in  California  and  New  Mexico  a 
genial  soil  and  climate  ;  and  that  these  States,  when  sub- 
16 


182  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

divided  and  annexed,  would  give  to  the  slaveliolding  inte 
rest  a  predominating  and  resistless  influence  in  the  Federal 
Government. 

Were  other  proofs  wanting  of  the  real  object  of  the 
war,  it  might  be  found  in  the  avowals  of  the  southern 
press:  ''We  trust,"  said  the  Charleston  Patriot,  "that 
our  southern  representatives  will  remember  that  this  is  a 
SOUTHERN  WAR."  Said  the  Charleston  Courier  :  "  Every 
battle  fought  in  Mexico,  and  every  dollar  spent  there,  but 
insures  the  acquisition  of  territory  which  must  widen  the 
field  of  southern  enterprize  and  poiver  for  the  future. 
And  the  final  result  will  be  to  adjust  the  whole  balance 
of  power  in  the  Confederacy,  so  as  to  give  us  the  control 
over  the  operations  of  the  Government  in  all  time  to 
come." 

The  Federal  Union,  a  Georgia  paper  in  the  interest  of 
the  administration,  remarked,  "  The  Whigs  of  the  North 
oppose  the  war,  because  its  legitimate  effect  is,  as  they 
contend,  the  extension  of  southern  territory,  and  of  south 
ern  slavery.  It  is  true,  this  is  a  war  in  which  the  South 
is  more  immediately  interested.  Its  vast  expenditures 
must  be  made  within  her  limits.  During  its  continuance, 
New  York,  the  great  emporium  of  commerce,  must  be 
shorn  in  part  of  her  greatness.  Exchange,  usually  in  her 
favor,  must  now  be  reversed,  and  in  favor  of  New  Orleans, 
where  the  supplies  are  furnished  for  the  army.  Let  the 
SOUTH  now  be  true  to  herself,  and  the  days  of  her  vassal 
age  are  gone,  and  gone  for  ever." 

Said  the  Mobile  Herald  :  "  The  natural  tendency  of  the 
slaves  under  our  humane  policy  is  to  increase.  The  effect 
follows  that,  if  we  have  no  outlet  for  them,  no  soil  to  put 
them  on,  they  will  be  huddled  within  the  extreme  south 
ern  limits  of  the  Union."  After  showing  that  insubordi 
nation,  and  loss  of  profit,  would  result  from  a  too  crowded 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  .  183 

slave  population,  the  editor  proceeds,  "  These  evils  may 
be  avoided  by  taking  new  territory  in  the  direction  of 
Mexico.  The  profitable  existence  of  slavery  is  by  no 
means  incompatible  with  a  more  temperate  region,  but  it 
is  incompatible  with  a  very  dense  population.  We  need 
plenty  of  soil  to  render  it  profitable" 

As  the  war  was  waged  only  for  territory,  Mr.  Polk  was 
anxious  to  secure  its  object  as  speedily  as  possible  ;  and, 
thinking  it  probable  that  money  judiciously  distributed  in 
Mexico  might  hasten  the  cession  of  California,  recom 
mended  to  Congress,  August  8th,  1846,  an  appropriation 
of  two  millions  of  dollars,  to  be  placed  at  his  disposal,  for 
the  purpose  of  facilitating  a.  peace.  The  A^ery  proposal 
utterly  destroyed  the  pretext  upon  which  he  first  justified 
the  war,  that  it  was  one  of  defence.  "  Millions  for  de 
fence,  not  a  cent  for  tribute,"  was  once  the  proud  rally 
ing  cry  of  the  Republic.  Now  he  proposed  two  millions 
to  buy  a  peace.  Had  it  not  been  known  that  the  money 
was  to  be  employed  in  gaining  territory,  the  very  proposi 
tion  would  have  excited  universal  abhorrence  and  indigna 
tion.  A  bill  granting  the  desired  sum  was  introduced 
into  the  Lower  House,  but  to  the  extreme  mortification 
and  alarm  of  the  administration,  and  the  pro-slavery  party, 
was  passed  with  a  proviso  offered  by  Mr.  Wilmot,  exclud 
ing  slavery  from  all  territory  that  might  be  ceded  by 
Mexico.  The  bill  was  reported  to  the  Senate  on  the  last 
day  of  the  Session,  and,  for  want  of  time,  no  question  was 
taken  upon  it.  At  the  ensuing  Session,  Mr.  Polk  asked 
for  three  millions  for  the  same  purpose,  and  a  law  was 
passed  appropriating  this  sum  "  to  enable  the  President 
to  conclude  a  treaty  of  peace,  limits  and  boundaries,  with 
the  Republic  of  Mexico,  to  be  used  by  him  in  the  event 
that  said  treaty,  when  signed  by  the  authorized  agents  of 
the  two  Governments,  and  duly  ratified  by  Mexico,  shall 


184  REVIEW    OF    THE    MKXR'AN    WAR. 

call  for  the  same,  or  any  part  thereof."  It  will  be  ob 
served  that  the  law  contemplated  not  merely  a  treaty  of 
peace,  but  of  limits  and  boundaries,  in  other  words,  a 
treaty  ceding  California  and  IV ew  Mexico.  The  condition 
of  the  appropriation  is  unexampled  in  the  history  of  diplo 
macy.  The  money  is  to  be  paid  not  when  the  treaty  is 
consummated,  but  as  soon  as  Mexico  consents  to  the  terms 
Mr.  Polk  may  demand.  Mr.  Tyler  found  that  a  contract 
entered  into  by  the  authorized  agents  of  two  Governments, 
did  not  constitute  a  treaty  without  the  ratification  of  the 
Senate  ;  but,  in  this  most  extraordinary  law,  such  a  ratifi 
cation  is  wholly  disregarded.  As  soon  as  Mexico  binds 
herself  to  cede  territory,  the  money  is  to  be  paid,  never  to 
be  returned,  whether  the  Senate  reject  or  confirm  the  bar 
gain.  Never  before,  probably,  did  a  civilized  nation  stipu 
late  to  perform  in  advance,  a  condition  required  by  an 
unratified  and  therefore  unobligatory  treaty.  Viewing 
the  appropriation  in  the  least  offensive  light,  it  is  an  offer 
to  pay  the  consideration  money  of  a  purchase  in  advance, 
whether  the  title-deed  may  prove  valid  or  not,  with  per 
mission  to  retain  the  money,  although  the  deed  should  be 
refused.  There,  must  have  been  some  weighty  reason  for 
this  procedure.  The  credit  of  the  United  States  was  not 
so  low,  that  it  was  necessary  to  pay  in  advance.  Louisi 
ana  and  Florida  had  been  purchased  by  treaty  ;  but  the 
consideration  money  in  neither  case  had  been  paid  before 
the  treaties  were  ratified.  The  departure  in  the  present 
case  from  the  ordinary  course  of  negotiation  was  caused 
by  the  burning  desire  to  acquire  additional  slave  terri 
tory. 

The  war  was  expensive,  and  might  prove  hazardous  to 
the  popularity  of  the  administration.  Mr.  Polk  had  no 
wish  to  kill  Mexicans,  provided  they  would  surrender  their 
lands.  It  was  hoped  our  invasion,  and  the  fearful  array 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR,  185 

of  fifty  thousand  men,  would  have  instantly  frightened  the 
enemy  into  the  desired  cession  of  her  territories  ;  but,  in 
the  language  of  the  administration  presses,  Mexico  was 
"  mulish,"  was  "  obstinate."  It  was  thought  a  large  sum 
of  money,  judiciously  distributed,  might  be  more  success 
ful  than  intimidation  had  proved.  The  Mexican  leaders 
were  supposed  to  be  mercenary ;  the  army  was  known  to 
be  necessitous.  Three  millions  distributed  among  the 
officers  and  soldiers,  either  secretly  as  bribes,  or  openly 
under  color  of  an  instalment  in  advance  for  the  purchase 
of  territory,  might  induce  the  Mexican  Congress  through 
military  coercion,  to  consent  to  the  dismemberment  of 
the  Republic.  This  payment  in  advance  of  so  large 
a  sum,  might  be  useful,  also,  in  compelling  the  American 
Senate  to  ratify  the  treaty.  If  they  declined,  the  money 
paid  would  be  lost,  and  the  responsibility  of  sacrificing  the 
people's  money  would  rest  upon  the  Senators,  who  should 
dare  to  vote  against  the  treaty.  The  attempt  to  re-annex 
the  Wilmot  proviso  to  this  bill,  and  the  long  debate  it 
occasioned,  rent  asunder  the  transparent  veil  with  which 
the  pro-slavery  party  had  attempted  to  conceal  the  true 
object  of  the  war,  and  provoked  the  southern  members 
into  unusual  frankness. 

The  northern  Democrats  had  long  justified  the  character 
given  to  them,  of  being  "  the  natural  allies"  of  the  slave 
holders.  Anti-slavery  sentiments  had  recently  made  rapid 
progress  at  the  north,  and  the  tone  of  the  elections  in 
various  States,  warned  them  that  their  devotion  to  slavery, 
was  undermining  their  own  power.  The  grant  of  three 
millions,  afforded  them  an  opportunity  of  strengthening 
their  waning  popularity  at  home,  without,  as  they  con 
tended,  dissolving  an  alliance,  from  which  they  had 
derived  so  many  pecuniary  and  political  advantages.  As 
Democrats,  they  were  bound  to  support  the  war,  and 
16* 


186  REVIEW    OF    TUG    MEXICAN    WAR. 

to  give  the  President  the  appropriation  he  had  asked  for. 
But  to  this  appropriation,  they  attached  the  Wilmot  pro 
viso.  This  now  famous  proviso  was  in  these  terms  :  "  Pro 
vided  always,  that  there  shall  be  neither  slavery  nor  invo 
luntary  servitude,  in  any  territory  on  the  continent  of 
America,  which  shall  hereafter  be  acquired  by  or  annexed 
to  the  United  States  by  virtue  of  this  appropriation,  or  in 
any  other  manner  whatsoever,  except  for  crimes  whereof 
the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted."  To  this  was 
added  a  provision  for  the  return  of  fugitive  slaves  found 
in  such  territory.  In  this  attempt  to  prevent  the  exten 
sion  of  slavery,  the  northern  Democrats  endeavored  to 
shelter  themselves  from  the  reproaches  of  their  southern 
friends  by  calling  their  proposal  "  the  Thomas  Jefferson 
proviso,"*  its  language  being  copied  from  the  ordinance 
for  the  Government  of  the  North-Western  territory,  orig 
inally  drafted  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  1784.J-  The  northern 
Whigs  gave  the  proviso  their  cordial  support.  It  may,  how 
ever,  be  asked  with  what  propriety  they  could  vote  for  an 
appropriation  even  with  the  proviso,  which  they  themselves 
contended,  was  to  be  used  for  the  purposes  of  bribery  and 
corruption.  To  this  question  they  gave  a  far  more  satisfac 
tory  answer,  than  they  ever  returned  to  the  question  why 
they  voted  for  a  war  which  they  denounced  as  iniquitous. 
Mr.  Stewart  of  Pennsylvania,  thus  ably  vindicated  the  policy 
and  duty  of  voting  for  the  appropriation  with  the  proviso  : 
"  As  a  friend  of  peace,  present  and  prospective,  I  am  in 
favor  of  this  proviso.  The  object  of  this  war  being  the 
acquisition  of  southern  territory,  as  long  as  there  is  a  hope 
of  accomplishing  this  object,  there  will  be  no  peace.  Put 
an  end  to  this  hope  ;  and  you  at  once  put  an  end  to  the 
war,  by  defeating  its  object.  The  moment  the  President 
finds  this  proviso  accompanying  this  grant  of  money,  he 

*  Speech  of  Mr.  Brinkerhoff,  Feb.  10,  1847.     Cong.  Globe. 
f  See  Journal  of  Congress,  April  19,  1784. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  187 

will  be  for  making  peace,  and  so  will  all  the  South.  They 
want  no  restricted  territory.  If  the  restriction  is  imposed, 
and  the  territory  acquired  is  to  \)e  free,  from  that  moment 
the  President  would  pay  Mexico  to  keep  her  territory, 
rather  than  bring  it  in  on  such  conditions.  I  am  for  the 
proviso,  therefore,  because  it  will  bring  us  PEACE.  Im 
pose  this  restriction,  and  Mr.  Polk  will  say  he  wants  no 
territory,  the  South  will  say  they  want  none ;  we  say, 
agreed,  we  want  none.  Then,  if  Mexico  is  to  lose  no 
territory,  she  will  be  for  peace ;  and,  if  we  are  to  acquire 
none,  what  are  we  fighting  for  ?  Then  impose  this 
restriction,  and  the  war  will  be  promptly  ended  to  the 
great  benefit  and  joy  of  both  Republics." 

The  avowals  of  southern  members,  the  messages  of 
southern  Governors,  the  action  of  southern  Legislatures, 
and  the  language  held  by  slaveholders  assembled  in 
popular  meetings,  all  bear  witness  to  the  wisdom,  foresight, 
and  truth,  of  Mr.  Stewart's  remarks. 

The  alarm  and  irritation  of  the  south  caused  by  the 
introduction  of  the  proviso,  was  greatly  augmented  by 
the  circumstance  of  its  originating  with  the  northern 
democracy ;  with  that  party  which  had  heretofore  cheer 
fully  sacrificed  the  right  of  petition,  and  the  freedom  of 
debate,  and  had  consented  to  the  annexation  of  Texas, 
through  subserviency  to  southern  interests.  The  slave 
holders  felt  that  they  were  now  in  their  utmost  need 
deserted  by  the  friends,  who  had  hitherto  professed  devo 
tion  to  their  cause.*  In  their  exasperation  they,  for  the 

*  In  1843,  Mr.  Buchanan,  Senator  from  Pennsylvania,  opposed 
the  ratification  of  the  treaty  with  Great  Britain  settling  the 
North-East  boundary,  because  it  did  not  provide  compensation 
for  certain  slaves  liberated  in  the  West  Indies.  He  remarked  : 
"  All  Christendom  is  leagued  against  the  South,  upon  the  ques 
tion  of  domestic  slavery.  They  have  no  other  allies  to  sustain 
their  constitutional  rights,  except  the  DEMOCRACY  or  THE 
NORTH.  In  my  own  State,  we  inscribe  upon  our  party  banners 
hostility  to  abolition.  It  is  there  one  of  the  cardinal  principles 
of  the  democratic  party." 


188  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

first  time,  avowed  the  real  object  of  the  war  to  be,  the 
conquest  of  territory  for  the  extension  of  slavery. 

Mr.  SEDDON,  of  Virginia,  declared  the  proviso  a  "  gross 
and  offensive  proposition,  outraging  the  whole  scope  and 
spirit  of  the  Constitution.  The  South  never  would,  never 
could  prosecute  conquests  which  were  to  be  made  the  in 
struments  of  direct  attack  upon  her  institutions.  She 
never  would  acquiesce  in  the  acquisition  of  territory  from 
which  her  sons,  with  their  property,  were  to  be  wholly 
excluded.  In  contrast  with  the  effects  of  that  law  (the 
proviso),  the  question  of  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  of  the 
acquisition  of  the  most  extensive  territories,  shrinks  into 
insignificance.  It  is  to  involve  the  momentous  issue  of  the 
Union  of  these  States." 

Mr.  DARGAX,  of  Alabama,  was  exceedingly  frank  : 
"  Say  to  the  South  that  they  are  only  fighting  to  make 
FREE  TERRITORY,  that  it  is  only  for  this  that  the  brave 
men  of  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Alabama,  are  periling  their 
lives ;  and  they  will  demand  the  settlement  of  this  ques 
tion  now,  preliminary  to  any  further  prosecution  of  the  war." 

Said  Mr.  LEAKE,  of  Virginia  :  "  If  the  present  attempt 
to  impose  limitation  with  respect  to  the  EXTENSION  OF 
SLAVERY  should  be  persisted  in,  and  should  prevail,  the 
South  must  stand  in  self-defence  ;  for  they  could  not  and 
would  not  submit  to  it." 

Mr.  TIBBATTS,  of  Kentucky,  was  equally  frank  with  Mr. 
Dargan :  "  If  the  people  of  the  South  are  to  be  told  that 
in  acquiring  territory,  for  which  their  blood  isUo  be  spilled 
and  their  treasures  expended,  they  are  realizing  benefits 
for  others  in  which  they  are  to  have  no  share,  and  that 
they  are,  in  effect,  to  be  excluded  from  territory  which 
their  own  blood  and  treasure  have  helped  to  win,  then  I 
am  against  keeping  one  foot  of  Mexican  territory — I  am 
opposed  to  carryiny  on  this  war  on  such  terms" 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  189 

Mr.  CALHOUN,  in  great  excitement,  exclaimed  :  "  I  am 
a  Southern  man  and  a  slaveholder,  a  kind  and  merciful 
one  I  trust,  and  none  the  worse  for  being  a  slaveholder. 
I  say  for  one  I  would  rather  meet  any  extremity  upon 
earth  than  give  up  one  inch  of  our  equality — one  inch  of 
what  belongs  to  us  as  members  of  this  great  Republic. 
What !  acknowledge  our  inferiority  !  The  surrender  of 
life  is  nothing  to  sinking  down  into  acknowledged  infer 
iority." 

Yet  this  kind  and  merciful  slaveholder  had  devoted  the 
energies  of  his  life  to  keeping  in  acknowledged  inferiority, 
ignorance,  and  degradation,  millions  of  his  fellow-men  and 
fellow-countrymen,  and  was  at  this  very  moment  opposing 
an  effort  to  prevent  immense  regions  being  peopled  with 
beasts  of  burden  in  human  form. 

Mr.  BAGBY,  of  Alabama,  averred,  "  If  the  time  should 
come  when  this  principle  was  to  be  acted  upon,  that  no 
more  territory  was  to  be  acquired  lest  Southern  institu 
tions  should  exist  in  such  territory,  he  would  say,  AWAY 
WITH  THE  UNION."  This  gentleman,  the  more  effectually 
to  secure  the  object  of  the  war,  introduced  into  the  Senate 
a  resolution  declaring  that,  "  If  territory  is  hereafter  ac 
quired  by  the  United  States,  either  by  treaty  or  conquest, 
it  shall  not  be  competent  for  the  treaty-making  power  or 
Congress  to  exclude  SLAVERY  from  such  territory,  either 
by  treaty,  stipulation,  or  by  act  of  Congress." 

Mr.  BUTLER,  of  South  Carolina,  "  Would,  before  God, 
warn  gentlemen,  if  the  South  was  to  be  regarded  and 
treated  with  inequality,  they  would  tear  up  the  instru 
ment  (the  Constitution)  to  which  they  had  subscribed  iti 
good  faith." 

Mr.  KAUFFMAN,  of  Texas,  declared  "  Should  the  pro 
posed  amendment  be  adopted,  all  hopes  of  acquiring  ter 
ritory  in  that  quarter  are  gone  for  ever.  The  South  would 


190  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

never  consent,  under  such  a  state  of  things,  to  add  any 
territory  to  what  we  now  possess." 

Mr.  THOMPSON,  of  Mississippi,  denouncing  the  proviso, 
affirmed  that  its  passage  would  be  the  DISSOLUTION  OF 
THE  UNION. 

Mr.  MANGUM,  of  North  Carolina :  "  There  are  now 
three  millions  of  slaves  penned  up  in  the  slave  States,  and 
they  are  an  increasing  population,  increasing  faster  than 
the  whites.  And  are  the  slaves  to  be  always  confined  to 
their  prison  States  ?" 

Thus  we  find  from  their  own  avowals  that  the  acquisi 
tion  of  SLAVE  TERRITORY  was  the  sine  qua  non  on  which 
the  slaveholders  would  continue  the  war ;  and  that  for 
such  acquisition  they  were  ready,  if  necessary,  to  dissolve 
the  Union.  Hence,  the  honor  of  the  nation,  the  griev 
ances  of  the  claimants,  the  shedding  of  American  blood 
upon  American  soil,  were  hollow,  and  false  pretexts  for  the 
war,  its  true  and  sole  object  being  the  extension  of  human 
bondage. 

To  the  confessions  of  the  slaveholders  may  be  added 
the  following  decisive  testimony  of  General  Cass,  then  a 
member  of  the  Senate,  given  in  a  private  letter  of  19th 
February,  1847,  but  which  found  its  way  into  the  news 
papers  :  "  The  Wilmot  Proviso  will  not  pass  the  Senate. 
It  would  be  death  to  the  war — death  to  all  hopes  of  get 
ting  an  acre  of  territory — death  to  the  Administration, 
and  death  to  the  Democratic  party." 

The  reference  made  by  the  slaveholders  to  the  Missouri 
compromise,  and  their  alleged  willingness  to  apply  that 
compromise  to  the  conquered  territories,  utterly  stultified 
their  argument  against  the  constitutionality  of  the  Proviso. 
If  Congress  had  a  right  to  exclude  Slavery  from  territory 
purchased  of  France,  and  conquered  from  Mexico,  north 
of  36°  30,  they  had  surely  an  equal  right  to  exclude  it 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  191 

from  every  part  of  New  Mexico  and  California.  By  the 
Constitution,  Congress  is  constituted  the  Legislature  of 
the  territories,  and  of  course  possesses  the  same  power 
over  slavery  in  them,  that  a  State  legislature  does  within 
its  own  jurisdiction. 

The  bill  appropriating  three  millions  of  dollars  was, 
after  a  severe  struggle,  carried  in  the  House  of  Represent 
atives,  with  the  Proviso,  by  115  to  106.  In  the  Senate, 
the  Proviso  was  stricken  out  31  to  21.  The  whole  in 
fluence  of  the  Government,  and  all  the  appliances  of  party 
discipline,  were  now  put  in  requisition  to  induce  the  House 
to  concur  with  the  Senate,  and  the  Proviso  was  finally 
rejected,  102  to  97.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  total 
vote  on  the  adoption  of  the  Proviso  was  221,  and  on  its 
rejection  199.  Of  course  no  less  than  22  members  found 
it  convenient  to  be  absent  at  this  important  crisis,  and 
six  who  had  supported  the  Proviso  found  motives  for 
changing  their  votes. 

The  Proviso  had  indeed  been  rejected  for  the  present, 
but  it  might  be  renewed  at  the  next  session  ;  and,  even 
should  it  fail  in  the  Senate,  yet  a  treaty,  ceding  an  im 
mense  territory  to  be  consecrated  to  slavery,  might  not 
command  in  that  body  the  vote  of  two-thirds  necessary 
to  its  ratification.  The  very  possibility  of  thus  losing  the 
prize  for  which  the  war  was  commenced,  exasperated  and 
alarmed  the  South,  and  vigorous  efforts  were  made  to 
induce  the  North  to  abandon  the  position  it  had  taken  in 
behalf  of  human  liberty,  by  the  usual  threats  of  dissolv 
ing  the  Union,  and  by  appeals  to  the  interests  of  selfish 
politicians.  Many  of  the  governors  of  the  slaveholding 
States  brought  the  subject  before  their  respective  Legis 
latures.  The  Governor  of  Virginia,  in  his  Message,  re 
marked  that  it  was  "  unquestionably  true  that,  if  our 
slaves  were  restricted  to  our  present  limits,  they  would 


192  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

greatly  diminish  in  value,  and  thus  seriously  impair  the 
fortunes  of  their  owners.  The  South  never  can  consent 
to  be  confined  to  prescribed  limits.  She  wants  and  must 
have  space,  if  consistent  with  honor  and  propriety." 

The  Governor  of  South  Carolina  objected  to  the  re 
striction  as  tending  to  diminish  the  political  influence  of 
the  South,  in  the  Federal  Government,  and  insisted  on 
strenuous  resistance.  The  Legislature  of  Virginia,  setting 
at  defiance  the  power  of  Congress,  "  Resolved  unani 
mously,  that  under  no  circumstances  will  this  body 
recognize,  as  binding,  any  enactment  of  the  Federal  Gov 
ernment  which  has  for  its  object  the  prohibition  of  slavery, 
in  any  territory,  to  be  acquired  either  by  conquest  or 
treaty."  The  Legislature  of  Georgia  resolved,  "  That  any 
territory  acquired  by  the  arms  of  the  United  States,  or 
by  treaty  with  a  foreign  power,  becomes  the  common 
property  of  the  several  States  composing  this  confede 
racy  ;  and  whilst  it  so  continues,  it  is  the  right  of  each 
citizen  of  each  and  every  State,  to  reside  with  his  pro 
perty  of  every  description,  within  such  territory." 

The  Legislature  of  Alabama  "  Resolved,  That  under 
no  circumstances  will  this  body  recognize  as  binding,  any 
enactment  of  the  Federal  Government  which  has  for  its 
object  the  prohibition  of  slavery  in  any  territory,  to  be 
acquired  either  by  conquest  or  treaty,  south  of  the  line  of 
the  Missouri  compromise." 

A  public  meeting  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  declared  not 
only  the  right  of  slaveholders  to  carry  their  slaves  into 
all  territories  hereafter  to  be  acquired  south  of  36°  30', 
"  but  also  that  we  will,  by  all  peaceable  means,  and 
this  failing,  by  ARMS,  if  necessary,  sustain  such  of  our 
fellow-citizens  as  may  elect  to  settle  within  such  ter 
ritory  hereafter  acquired,  in  the  maintenance  of  their 
rights  thus  to  settle,  and  take  with  them  their  SLAVES." 


REVIEW  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAR.         193 

A  meeting  in  Charleston,  S.  C.,  declared  it  would  be  dis 
honorable  and  debasing  to  submit  to  the  prohibition  of 
slavery,  "  beyond  what  is  already  yielded  by  the  Missouri 
compromise" 

But  it  was  not  enough  to  threaten  the  North  with  a 
dissolution  of  the  union,  and  with  civil  war.  These  are 
evils  which,  when  they  occur,  will  not  fall  exclusively 
upon  the  people  of  the  free  States.  It  was  thought  ad 
visable  to  threaten  the  politicians  of  the  North  with  the 
loss  of  political  power  and  emolument — a  menace  far  more 
influential  than  any  other.  A  Presidential  election  was 
approaching,  and  northern  aspirants  were  warned  that  no 
opponent  to  the  extension  of  slavery  should  receive  the 
votes  of  the  South.  A  similar  warning  had  secured  the 
annexation  of  Texas,  and  the  election  of  Mr.  Polk. 

The  Legislature  of  Georgia  "  Resolved,  that  the  people 
of  Georgia,  at  the  ensuing  Presidential  election,  should 
not  and  will  not  support  any  man  for  the  Presidency  or 
Vice-Presidency,  who  favors  the  principle  of  the  Wilmot 
proviso"  The  determination  thus  officially  announced, 
was  reiterated  by  various  meetings  and  on  various  occa 
sions,  and  had  a  sensible  and  immediate  effect  in  cooling 
the  zeal  of  northern  politicians  in  behalf  of  the  proviso. 
General  Taylor  was  a  cotton  planter,  and  the  owner  of 
numerous  slaves  ;  and  the  popularity  he  had  acquired  by 
his  victories,  pointed  him  out  as  a  most  available  southern 
candidate.  He  was  accordingly  early  nominated,  and  his 
interests  were  so  thoroughly  identified  with  slavery,  that 
it  was  deemed  unnecessary  to  demand  from  him  any 
pledge  of  opposition  to  the  Wilmot  proviso.  Said  the 
Richmond  Whig : — "  Why  ask  pledges  of  him  on  the 
subject  of  slavery,  when  the  fact  that  his  whole  estate 
consists  of  land  and  negroes,  and  that  when  they  go,  he 
17 


194  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

must  be  a  beggar,  is  the  very  strongest  pledge  he  could 
possibly  give  ?" 

The  frankness  and  determination  of  the  southern  Whigs 
left  to  their  northern  brethern  the  alternative  of  uniting 
with  them  in  raising  General  Taylor  to  the  Presidency, 
or  of  resigning  to  their  political  opponents  the  favors  of 
official  patronage.  They  adopted  the  former,  and  Gene 
ral  Taylor  received  the  nomination  of  the  party. 

The  northern  Democrats  claimed  a  candidate  selected 
from  among  themselves.  The  claim  was  allowed  by  their 
southern  brethren,  on  condition  of  a  satisfactory  pledge 
against  the  Wilrnot  proviso.  Four  prominent  northern 
Democrats  entered  the  lists,  to  bid  against  each  other  for 
the  votes  of  the  slaveholders.  General  Cass's  bid  was 
accepted,  and  he  was  duly  nominated,  having  declared 
the  proviso  unconstitutional. 

Notwithstanding  the  hostility  of  the  South  to  the  pro 
viso,  they  anticipated  the  possibility  of  being  compelled 
to  yield  to  the  North,  so  far  as  to  renew  the  Missouri 
compromise,  and  to  consent  to  the  exclusion  of  slavery 
north  of  36°  30' — and  here  we  find  a  solution  of  Mr. 
Folk's  rejection  of  the  cession  proposed  by  Mexico. 
Great  and  valuable  as  was  that  cession,  it  was  chiefly 
north  of  the  compromise  line,  leaving  space  for  scarcely 
more  than  two  slave  States.  The  territory  offered  was 
not  far  enough  south  to  secure  the  object  of  the  war,  and 
hostilities  were  to  be  continued  for  conquests,  below  the 
Missouri  line. 

In  August,  184*7,  negotiations  were  opened  for  peace, 
and  Mr.  Trist  was  appointed  by  the  President  to  conduct 
them  on  the  part  of  the  United  States.  The  Mexican 
Commissioners  were  instructed  to  procure  a  stipulation, 
by  which  "  The  United  States  shall  engage  not  to  permit 
slavery  in  that  part  of  the  territory  which  they  may  ac- 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  193 

quire  by  treaty."  It  is  to  be  presumed  that  Mr.  Jrist 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  views  of  the  Cabinet  at 
Washington,  on  this  subject.  In  an  official  despatch  to 
the  Secretary  of  State,  of  4th  September,  184*7,  he  thus 
describes  his  conference  with  the  Mexican  Commissioners, 
on  this  point  of  their  instructions : — "  In  the  course  of 
their  remarks  on  this  subject  (exclusion  of  slavery),  I 
was  told  that,  if  it  were  proposed  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States  to  part  with  a  portion  of  their  territory,  in 
order  that  the  INQUISITION  should  be  therein  established, 
the  proposal  could  not  excite  stronger  feelings  of  abhor 
rence  than  those  awakened  in  Mexico,  by  the  prospect  of 
the  introduction  of  slavery  in  any  territory  parted  with  by 
her. 

"  I  concluded  by  assuring  them  that  the  bare  mention  of 
the  subject  in  any  treaty  to  which  the  United  States  was 
a  party,  was  an  absolute  impossibility  :  that  no  President 
of  the  United  States  would  dare  to  present  any  such 
treaty  to  the  Senate  ;  and  that,  if  it  were  in  their  power  to 
offer  me  the  whole  territory  described  in  our  project,  in 
creased  ten-fold  in  value,  and  in  addition  to  that,  covered 
afoot  thick  all  over  with  pure  gold,  upon  THE  SINGLE  CON 
DITION  THAT  SLAVERY  SHOULD  BE  EXCLUDED  therefrom,  I 

could  not  entertain  the  offer  for  a  moment,  nor  think  even 
of  communicating  it  to  Washington." 


196  REVIEW    OF    THE   MEXICAN    WAR. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

UNWORTHY    EXPEDIENTS    FOR     FACILITATING    CONQUESTS. 

GENERAL  SANTA  ANNA  had  been  one  of  the  ablest  and 
most  popular  of  the  Mexican  chieftains.  A  political 
revolution  had  deprived  him  of  power,  and  driven  him 
into  exile — and  he  had  taken  refuge  in  Havana.  Shortly 
before  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  an  officer  of  the 
United  States  navy  was  despatched  to  that  city.  The 
object  of  his  mission  has  not  been  officially  disclosed  ;  but 
it  was  asserted  in  the  newspapers,  and  generally  believed, 
that  it  was  to  confer  with  the  Mexican  General.  An 
American  squadron,  in  anticipation  of  the  war,  had  for 
some  time  been  stationed  off  Vera  Cruz,  and  the  very  day 
war  was  declared,  "private  and  confidential"*  orders  were 
sent  to  the  commander  not  to  obstruct  the  return  of 
Santa  Anna  to  Mexico.  The  distinguished  exile,  it  was 
well-known,  had  wrongs  to  resent ;  and  it  was  no  doubt 
taken  for  granted,  and  perhaps  expressly  stipulated,  that, 
being  indebted  to  Mr.  Polk  for  the  opportunity  of  wreak 
ing  his  vengeance,  he  would  foment  an  insurrection,  kindle 
the  flames  of  civil  war,  recover  his  former  power,  and 
exercise  it  in  concluding  a  peace  with  the  United  States, 

*  "  United  States  Navy  Department, 

May  13&,  1846. 

"  Commodore.— It  Santa  Anna  endeavors  to  enter  the  Mexican 
ports,  you  will  allow  him  to  pass  freely. 

"  Respectfully  yours, 

"  GEORGE  BANCROFT." 
"  Commodore  DAVID  CONNER, 
Commanding  Home  Squadron." 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  197 

by  the  cession  of  California.  He  did  return  through 
favor  of  Mr.  Folk's  order,*  and,  as  was  expected,  effected 
a  revolution,  and  assumed  the  reins  of  Government ;  and, 
by  his  wonderful  energy  and  perseverance  in  behalf  of 
his  country,  rebuked  the  artifice  of  the  American  Presi 
dent. 

To  aid  in  fomenting  the  civil  dissensions  which,  it  was 
hoped,  would  result  from  Santa  Anna's  sudden  appear 
ance  in  Mexico,  General  Taylor  was  required  to  distribute 
a  proclamation  prepared  for  him  at  Washington.  In  this 
strange  document,  the  General  is  made  to  tell  the 
Mexicans,  "  Your  Government  is  in  the  hands  of  tyrants 
and  usurpers.  They  have  abolished  your  State  Govern 
ments  ;  they  have  overthrown  your  Federal  Constitution  ; 
they  have  deprived  you  of  the  right  of  suffrage,  destroyed 
the  liberty  of  the  press,  despoiled  you  of  your  arms,  and 
reduced  you  to  a  state  of  absolute  dependence  upon  the 
power  of  a  military  dictator.  We  come  to  obtain  indem 
nity  for  the  past,  and  security  for  the  future.  We  come  to 
overthrow  the  tyrants  who  have  destroyed  your  liberties,  but 
we  come  to  make  no  war  upon  the  people  of  Mexico,  nor 
upon  any  form  of  free  Government  they  may  choose  for 
themselves.  It  is  our  wish  to  see  you  liberated  from 
despots,  to  drive  back  the  savage  Camanches,  to  prevent 
the  renewal  of  their  assaults,  and  to  compel  them  to  restore 
to  you  from  captivity  your  long-lost  wives  and  children  /" 
Not  satisfied  with  forcing  General  Taylor  to  distribute  this 
mendacious  proclamation  as  his  own  act,  he  was  expressly 
instructed  (9th  July,  1846),  to  pursue  a  course  of  deceit 
and  fraud.  He  was  directed  by  the  Secretary  of  War, 
"to  take  occasions  to  send  officers  to  the  head -quarters  of 
the  enemy  for  the  military  purposes  real  or  ostensible 

*  Commodore  Conner  announcing  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  the  arrival  of  Santa  Anna  at  Vera  Cruz,  added:  "I 
have  allowed  him  to  enter  without  molestation." 

17* 


198  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

which  are  of  ordinary  occurrence  between  armies,  and  in 
which  opportunity  may  be  taken  to  speak  of  the  war 
itself  as  only  carried  on  to  obtain  justice,  and  that  we  had 
much  rather  procure  that  by  negotiation  than  by  light 
ing."  Here,  we  may  observe,  is  an  awkward  admission, 
that  the  war  is  not  a  defensive  but  an  aggressive  one. 
Again  :  "  A  discreet  officer  who  understands  Spanish,  and 
who  can  be  employed  in  the  intercourse  so  usual  between 
armies,  can  be  your  confidential  agent  on  such  occasions, 
and  can  mask  his  real  under  his  ostensible  object  of 
a  military  interview.  You  will  readily  comprehend 
that  in  a  country  so  divided  into  races,  classes,  and 
parties  as  Mexico  is,  and  with  so  many  local  divisions 
among  individuals,  there  must  be  great  room  for  operating 
on  the  minds  and  feelings  of  large  portions  of  the  inhabit 
ants,  and  inducing  them  to  wish  success  to  our  invasion, 
which  has  no  desire  to  injure  their  country,  and  which,  in 
overthrowing  their  oppressors,  may  benefit  themselves. 
Between  the  Spaniards,  who  monopolize  the  wealth  and 
power  of  the  country,  and  the  mixed  Indian  race  who 
bear  its  burdens,  there  must  be  jealousy  and  animosity. 
The  same  feelings  must  exist  between  the  the  lower  and 
higher  orders  of  the  clergy,  the  latter  of  whom  have  the 
dignities  and  revenues,  while  the  former  have  poverty  and 
labor.  In  all  this  field  of  division,  in  all  these  elements 
of  social,  political,  personal  and  local  discord,  there  must 
be  openings  to  reach  the  interests,  passions,  or  principles, 
of  some  of  the  parties,  and  thereby  conciliate  their  good 
will,  and  make  them  co-operators  with  us  in  bringing  about 
an  honorable  and  a  speedy  peace.  The  management  of 
these  delicate  movements,  are  confided  to  your  discretion." 

There  is  no  evidence  that  General  Taylor  ever  engaged 
in  these  "  delicate  movements."     He  bravely  fought  the 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  199 

Mexicans ;  but  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  he  ever 
condescended  to  corrupt  them. 

It  was  very  true  that  Mr.  Polk  would  rather  acquire 
territory  by  negotiation  than  by  fighting;  and  hence 
it  was  his  aim  to  disqualify  the  Mexicans  from  fighting,  by 
promoting  treason  and  rebellion ;  and  hence  Taylor  was 
instructed  to  encourage  the  departments  to  declare  them 
selves  independent  of  the  central  Government.  Hence 
also  Commodore  Sloat  was  instructed  (June  8th,  1846), 
'•  to  encourage  the  people  of  that  region  (California),  to 
enter  into  relations  of  amity  with  our  country."  Hence, 
General  Kearney,  four  days  after  entering  Santa  Fe, 
informed  the  inhabitants  by  proclamation  (22d  August, 
1846),  that  it  was  the  "wish  and  intention  of  the  United 
States,  to  provide  for  New  Mexico  a  free  Government, 
with  the  least  possible  delay,  similar  to  those  in  the  United 
States.'*  He  moreover  required  those  who  had  in  loyalty 
to  their  country  "  left  their  homes,  and  taken  arms 
against  the  troops  of  the  United  States,  to  return  forth 
with  to  them,  or  else  they  will  be  considered  as  enemies 
and  TRAITORS,  subjecting  their  persons  to  punishment,  and 
their  property  to  seizure  and  confiscation."  But  these 
Mexicans  who  were  to  be  punished  as  traitors  for  resisting 
the  invaders  of  their  soil,  owed  the  same  allegiance  to 
their  Government,  as  the  General  did  to  his.  To  remove 
this  difficulty,  the  Brigadier  assumed  the  prerogative  once 
exercised  by  the  Papal  See.  "The  undersigned,"  con 
tinued  the  proclamation,  "hereby  ABSOLVES  all  persons 
residing  within  the  boundary  of  Now  Mexico,  from  all 
further  allegiance  to  the  Republic  of  Mexico,  and  hereby 
CLAIMS  them  as  citizens  of  the  United  States." 

The  absolution  and  the  claim  were  of  equal  validity. 
The  General  had  been  instructed  to  establish  a  tempo 
rary  civil  Government,  "  therein  abolishing  all  arbitrary  re- 


200  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

strictions"  and  well  knowing  the  ultimate  purpose  for  which 
his  conquest  was  made,  he  ordained  that  the  right  of 
suffrage  in  New  Mexico,  should  be  exercised  by  "  every 
free  male,'7  thus  preparing  the  inhabitants  for  the  arbitra 
ry  restrictions  of  the  peculiar  institution  to  be  hereafter 
introduced.  From  Santa  Fe,  this  gentleman  proceeded 
to  California,  and  there  again  assumed  the  powers  of  the 
Roman  Pontiff  and  the  American  Congress.  Addressing 
the  Californians  in  a  proclamation  of  1st  March,  1847,  he 
declares  :  "  The  undersigned,  by  these  presents,  ABSOLVES 
all  the  inhabitants  of  California,  of  any  further  allegiance 
to  the  Republic  of  Mexico,  and  regards  them  as  CITIZENS 
OF  THE  UNITED  STATES."  Not  content  with  wielding  the 
attributes  of  ecclesiastical  and  civil  sovereignty,  he 
assumes  those  of  a  prophet :  "  The  stars  and  stripes  now 
float  over  California  ;  and,  as  long  as  the  sun  shall  shed 
his  light,  they  will  continue  to  wave  over  her,  and  over 
the  natives  of  the  country,  and  over  those  who  shall  seek 
a  domicile  in  her  bosom  ;  and  under  the  protection  of  this 
flag,  agriculture  must  advance,  and  the  arts  and  sciences 
will  flourish  like  seed  in  a  fertile  soil.  Americans  and 
Californians,  from  henceforth  ONE  PEOPLE." 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  201 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

CONDUCT    OF    AMERICAN    OFFICERS    IN    MEXICO, 

WAR,  being  always  waged  for  the  immediate  purpose  of 
inflicting  misery  and  death,  necessarily  calls  into  action 
the  malignant  passions  of  our  nature.  It  is  impossible 
that  those  who  are  contriving  the  ruin  and  death  of  their 
enemies,  should  exercise  towards  them  that  love,  and  kind 
ness,  and'forgiveness  enjoined  by  Christianit}T.  Hence  the 
profession  of  arms  has  a  strong  tendency  to  blunt  the  sen 
sibilities  of  the  soldier,  and  to  render  him  callous  to  the 
sufferings  of  his  victim.  Military  glory,  which  is  the  prize 
that  stimulates  the  ambition  of  the  soldier,  founded,  as  it 
is  upon  his  bravery,  skill,  and  success  in  destroying  his 
enemy,  and  totally  disconnected  from  all  reference  to  the 
justice  of  ihe  cause  in  which  his  victories  are  achieved — 
has  necessarily  an  unhappy  influence  in  perverting  the 
moral  sense.  In  those  qualities  which  twine  the  laurel 
around  the  brows  of  the  warrior,  there  is  no  one  element 
of  moral  goodness  ;  nothing  which  has  not  been  often  ex 
hibited  by  the  most  depraved  of  mankind.  It  has  been 
well  said,  that  when  the  soldier  has  vigorously  assaulted 
the  enemy,  when  though  repulsed  he  returns  to  the  con 
flict,  when  being  wounded  he  continues  to  brandish  his 
sword  till  his  grasp  relaxes  in  death,  and  he  falls  on  the 
field  "  covered  with  glory,"  he  has  attained  to  the  moral 
rank  of  a  bull- dog.  Hence  the  thirst  for  military  fame, 
by  diverting  the  mind  from  the  contemplation  and  pursuit 
of  objects  really  virtuous,  renders  the  soldier  peculiarly 


202  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

exposed  to  the  allurements  of  vice.  His  ordinary  life, 
moreover,  is  on  various  accounts  unfavorable  to  the  culti 
vation  of  those  benevolent  and  virtuous  affections  which 
adorn  and  bless  society.  Banished  from  the  softening 
and  humanizing  influences  of  domestic  associations,  exiled 
from  wife  and  children,  without  other  occupations  than 
the  monotonous  routine  of  the  camp  or  the  barrack,  and 
with  no  companions  but  such  as  are  subjected  to  similar 
privations,  both  his  mind  and  his  heart  are  left  without 
wholesome  aliment.  It  is  true  that  the  army  has  had  its 
saints  ;  some  good  men  have  passed  through  its  furnace 
without  the  smell  of  fire  on  their  garments,  but  the  at 
tention  excited  by  their  wonderful  deliverance  attests  the 
greatness  of  the  peril  they  escaped. 

The  officers  of  an  army  are,  with  few  exceptions,  far  su 
perior  in  education  and  refinement  to  the  privates,  and  are 
therefore  rarely  guilty  of  that  vulgar  motiveless  ferocity 
which  too  often  marks  the  conduct  of  the  common  sol 
dier.  Nevertheless,  it  would  be  unreasonable  to  expect, 
that  their  education  and  refinement  should  generally  shield 
their  hearts  from  the  indurating  influence  of  their  pro 
fession. 

The  foregoing  remarks  are,  it  is  believed,  founded  on 
the  acknowledged  principles  of  human  nature  ;  they  are 
most  abundantly  verified  by  all  military  history ;  and  the 
conduct  to  which  we  will  now  call  the  attention  of  the 
reader,  proves  that  they  are  applicable  to  American,  as 
well  as  to  other  armies. 

During  the  horrible  bombardment  of  Vera  Cruz,  and 
after  a  day  of  indiscriminate  slaughter  of  men,  women, 
and  children,  the  French,  Spanish,  and  English  Consuls  in 
the  city,  addressed  on  the  evening  of  the  24th  March. 
1847,  a  joint  note  to  General  Scott  asking  a  suspension 
of  hostilities  for  a  time  "  sufficient  to  enable  their  respec- 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  203 

live  compatriots  to  leave  the  place  with  their  women  and 
children,  as  well  as  the  Mexican  women  and  children." 
How  far  the  emergency  of  the  case  justified  this  applica 
tion,  may  be  learned  from  the  report  of  the  chief  of  the 
artillery,  made  the  same  evening  to  the  General — "  We 
have  been  restrained  from  the  want  of  shells  from  throw 
ing  more  than  one  every  Jive  minutes  during  the  day  ;"  he 
adds  that  a  full  supply  would  be  sent  to  the  batteries  that 
night  for  the  ensuing  day.  The  next  day  the  25th,  Gene 
ral  Scott  sent  to  the  consuls  a  peremptory  refusal  of 
their  request — the  neutrals  might  have  left  the  place 
previous  to  the  bombardment ;  and  as  to  the  Mexican 
women  and  children,  his  summons  to  the  city  had  been 
disregarded,  and  now  no  truce  would  be  allowed  apart 
from  surrender.  Some  excuse  for  this  stern  denial  of 
mercy  to  foreigners,  and  to  innocent  women  and  children, 
might  have  been  found  if  the  capture  of  the  city  would 
have  been  hazarded  by  the  intermission  for  a  few  hours  of 
the  fiery  deluge  which  was  overwhelming  it.  But  Scott 
well  knew  that  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  reduce  the  whole 
city  to  one  mass  of  ruins.  So  also,  had  a  reinforcement 
of  Mexicans  been  approaching,  a  motive  would  have  exist 
ed  for  compelling  a  surrender  before  their  arrival ;  but 
the  beleaguered  city  had  no  hopes  of  relief,  and  the  posi 
tion  and  force  of  the  American  army  precluded  the  possi 
bility  of  succor.  Scott's  army,  moreover,  were  so  safely 
ensconced  in  their  entrenchments,  that  he  had  no  reason 
to  fear,  that  the  boon  that  was  asked  would  prove  inju 
rious  to  the  assailants  ;  since  in  his  operations  against  the 
castle  and  city,  his  total  loss,  out  of  10,000  men,  did  not 
exceed  sixty-five  killed  and  wounded.  Before  replying 
to  the  Consuls,  he  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  War  the  same 

day,     "ALL    THE    BATTERIES    ARE    IN    AWFUL    ACTIVITY    this 

morning.     The  effect  is  no  doubt  very  great,  and  I  think 


204  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

the  city  cannot  hold  out  beyond  to-day."  Hence,  by  his 
own  confession,  and  by  the  fact  that  the  city  did  surren 
der  on  the  26th,  the  slaughter  of  women  and  children  oc 
casioned  by  the  awful  activity  of  his  batteries  during  the 
whole  of  the  25th,  there  being  then  a  "full  supply"  of 
shells,  was  utterly  unnecessary.  To  the  horrors  of  this 
bombardment  we  may  advert  hereafter,  and  at  present 
only  offer  the  following  as  a  commentary  on  General 
Scott's  refusal :  "I  heard  a  great  many  heart-rending 
tales  which  were  told  by  the  survivors  with  breaking 
hearts  ;  but  I  have  neither  the  inclination  nor  the  tim« 
to  repeat  them.  One,  however,  I  will  name.  A  French 
family  were  quietly  seated  in  their  parlor  the  evening 
(night  of  the  25th),  previous  to  the  hoisting  the  white  flag, 
when  a  shell  from  one  of  our  mortars  penetrated  the 
building,  and  exploded  in  the  room,  killing  the  MOTHER 
AND  FOUR  CHILDREN,  and  wounding  the  residue."* 

Truly,  indeed,  said  Sir  Harry  Smith,  in  a  speech  at  a 
late  military  dinner  in  London,  "It  must  be  confessed, 
gentlemen,  that  ours  is  a  damnable  profession." 

The  refusal  of  General  Taylor  to  accede  to  the  request 
of  the  Mexican  General  for  an  armistice,  before  he  knew 
that  either  Government  had  recognized  the  war  he  had 
commenced,  has  been  already  mentioned.  During  the 
attack  on  Monterey,  the  Governor  sent  a  flag  of  truce  to 
the  General,  stating  that  "  thousands  of  victims  who,  from 
indigence  and  want,  find  themselves  now  in  the  theatre  of 
war,  and  who  would  be  uselessly  sacrificed,  claim  the  rights 
which,  in  all  times  and  in  all  countries,  humanity  extends." 
He  asked  that  orders  might  be  given  that  families  might 
be  respected,  or  else  that  a  reasonable  time  might  be 
granted  them  to  leave  the  city.  The  General  refused  to 
permit  any  to  leave  the  city  ;  and,  however  much  we  may 

*  Letter  published  in  the  Alton  Tekgraph. 


REVIEW    OP    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  205 

lament  his  decision,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  that  owing 
to  the  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed,  his  refusal  is 
not  open  to  the  same  animadversions  as  that  of  Scott. 

It  is  an  impulse  of  our  nature  to  regard  scenes  of  suf 
fering  and  of  cruelty  with  aversion ;  but  war,  by  the  im 
portance  it  attaches  to  victoiy,  renders  such  scenes  sources 
of  pleasure,  when  their  subjects  are  enemies.  General 
Lane,  in  his  despatch  (22d  October,  1847),  thus  describes 
his  night  attack  upon  Allixco :  "  I  ordered  the  artillery 
to  be  posted  on  a  hill  near  the  town,  and  overlooking  it, 
and  open  its  fire.  Now  ensued  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
sights  conceivable.  Every  gun  was  served  with  the  utmost 
rapidity,  and  the  crash  of  the  walls  and  the  roofs  of  the 
houses  when  struck  by  our  shot  and  shells,  was  mingled 
with  the  roar  of  our  artillery.  The  bright  light  of  the 
moon  enabled  us  to  direct  our  shots  to  the  most  thickly 
populated  part  of  the  town." 

This  beautiful  scene,  so  gratifying  to  the  taste  of  Gene 
ral  Lane,  was  most  horrible  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  little 
town.  The  morning  sun  beheld,  amid  the  ruined  dwel 
lings  and  encumbered  streets,  two  hundred  and  nineteen 
mangled  corpses,  while  three  hundred  of  its  men,  women, 
and  children,  were  suffering  from  wounds.  "After 
searching  the  next  morning,"  says  the  General,  with  won 
derful  coolness,  "  for  arms  and  ammunition,  and  disposing 
of  what  was  found,  I  commenced  my  return."  As  he 
makes  no  other  allusion  to  the  result  of  his  search,  we  in 
fer  he  had  no  reason  to  be  proud  of  the  trophies  acquired 
by  this  beautiful  moonlight  massacre. 

Several  of  the  general  orders,  issued  by  American  offi 
cers  in  Mexico,  are  palpably  unjust,  and  exhibit  a  painful 
disregard  for  human  life.  Of  this  nature  is  the  following 
given  by  Colonel  Gates  at  Tampico,  Nov.  29,  1847  :  "As 
the  guerilleros  or  armed  enemies  are  employed  by  orders 
18 


206  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

to  rob  all  persons  who  may  be  engaged  in  the  lawful  pur 
pose  of  trading  with  the  inhabitants  of  this  town,  instruc 
tions  have  been  given  to  all  officers  of  the  United  States 
army  or  navy  within  this  department,  to  take  or  KILL  every 
person  of  that  character  found  so  employed  against  the 
peace  of  the  community."  Tampico  was  occupied  by  a 
detachment  of  the  invading  army.  For  Mexicans  to  sup 
ply  the  place,  while  so  occupied,  with  provisions  and 
the  necessaries  of  life,  would  indeed  be  doing  what  Mr. 
Polk  charged  upon  the  Whigs,  "  giving  aid  and  comfort  to 
the  enemy."  The  guerillas,  or  armed  militia,  had  there 
fore  a  perfect  right  by  the  laws  of  war  to  seize  and  con 
fiscate  all  supplies  on  their  way  to  the  enemy.  It  was 
doing  no  more  than  was  constantly  done  by  the  Ameri 
cans  in  the  Revolution,  when  their  cities  were  occupied  by 
the  invader.  These  "  armed  enemies"  might  indeed  be 
killed  in  battle  ;  but  Colonel  Gates's  order  has  no  refer 
ence  to  fighting.  In  the  plenitude  of  his  power,  he  gives 
every  naval  and  military  officer  the  option  of  capturing  or 
slaying  any  armed  Mexican  who  may  be  found  attempting 
to  intercept  supplies  for  Tampico. 

Unhappily  the  conduct  of  Colonel  Gates  was  sanctioned 
by  high  authority.  The  Commander-in-Chief,  seated  in 
the  conquered  Capital  of  the  Republic,  issued  an  order  on 
the  12lh  December,  1847,  which  adds  no  honor  to  his 
character  as  a  man  or  a  soldier.  The  baggage  trains  of 
the  army  had  often  been  attacked  by  guerillas,  in  the  long 
route  between  Vera  Cruz  and  the  city  of  Mexico,  and 
the  General  now  attempted  to  keep  open  his  communica 
tion  with  Vera  Cruz,  from  which  place  alone  he  could 
receive  ammunition,  &c.,  by  a  system  of  severity  towards 
those  who  had  scarcely  any  other  method  left  of  annoying 
the  invaders.  The  preamble  to  his  order  betrays  not  only 
his  object,  but  his  consciousness  that  some  apology  was 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  207 

needed  for  his  sanguinary  decree.  "  The  highways  used, 
or  about  to  be  used  by  the  American  troops,  being  still 
infested  in  many  parts  by  those  atrocious  bands  called 
guerillas  and  rancheros  who,  under  instructions  from  the 
late  Mexican  authorities,  continue  to  violate  every  rule  of 
warfare  observed  by  civilized  nations,  it  has  become  neces 
sary  to  announce  to  all,  the  views  and  instructions  of 
General  Head  Quarters  on  the  subject."  We  are  then 
informed,  "  No  quarter  will  be  given  to  known  murderers 
or  robbers,  whether  guerillas  or  rancheros,  and  whether 
serving  under  Mexican  commissions  or  not."  Offenders  of 
this  character  "  accidentally  falling  into  the  hands  of  Ame 
rican  troops,  will  be  momentarily  held  as  prisoners,  that 
is,  not  put  to  death  without  due  solemnity."  This  due 
solemnity  is  to  be  the  sentence  of  three  or  more  officers 
who  are  to  sentence  to  death  or  lashes,  on  proof  that  the 
prisoner  belonged  to  any  gang  of  murderers  or  robbers, 
or  had  murdered  or  robbed  any  one  belonging  to  or  fol 
lowing  the  American  army.  By  murder,  is  here  obviously 
meant,  killing  any  of  the  guard  accompanying  a  baggage 
train,  and  by  robbery,  carrying  away  any  property  belong- 
to  the  enemies  of  Mexico. 

The  vigor  displayed  in  these  orders  by  "  General  Head 
Quarters"  was  far  surpassed  by  one  of  his  subalterns. 
Colonel  Hughes,  civil  and  military  Governor  of  Jalapa,  on 
the  10th  December,  1847,  issued  the  following  order,  viz : 
"  All  persons  who  may  in  any  way  attempt  to  prevent 
supplies  from  reaching  this  port,  will  be  sent  to  a  military 
Commission  for  trial,  and  if  convicted  of  that  offence,  will 
be  SHOT."  Here  we  find  a  capital  offence  which  is  not 
alleged  to  be  either  robbery  or  murder.  Any  Mexican, 
priest  or  layman,  who  by  persuasion  or  force,  or  in  any 
other  way,  attempts  to  prevent  his  countrymen  from  com 
mitting  the  crime  of  furnishing  supplies  to  the  enemy,  is  to 


208  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

be  SHOT — to  be  put  to  death  in  cool  blood  by  American 
soldiers,  at  the  command  of  an  American  officer!  We 
greatly  doubt  whether  the  history  of  modern  warfare  re 
cords  an  order  so  utterly  at  variance  with  the  plainest  dic 
tates  of  patriotism,  justice,  and  humanity. 

We  now  turn  to  another  melancholy  but  forcible  illus 
tration  of  the  remarks  in  the  commencement  of  this  chap 
ter.  A  large  number  of  Irish  emigrants  to  the  United 
States  bore  arms  in  the  invading  army.  These  men  were, 
of  course,  mere  mercenaries.  They  fought,  as  others  of 
their  countrymen  have  labored  on  our  canals  and  rail 
roads,  for  money.  They  knew  and  cared  nothing  about 
the  claims  of  "  our  much-injured  citizens,''  nor  did  they 
trouble  themselves  about  "  our  western  boundary."  On 
reaching  Mexico,  they  discovered  that  they  had  been  hired 
by  heretics  to  slaughter  brethren  of  their  own  church. 
The  Mexicans,  moreover,  published  appeals  addressed 
directly  to  their  consciences,  in  which  was  set  forth,  in 
strong  language,  the  sin  they  were  committing  in  fighting 
against  men  who  had  never  injured  them,  and  who  were 
united  with  them,  in  a  common  faith  ;  and  liberal  offers 
were  made  of  land  and  money,  if  they  would  abandon  the 
American  standard.  A  portion  of  the  emigrants  accepted 
the  invitation  ;  and  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  they 
were  influenced  both  by  religious  and  by  pecuniary  mo 
tives.  Upwards  of  fifty  of  these  men  were  taken  prisoners 
in  battle.  They  had  unquestionably  committed  a  crime  in 
violating  their  pledged  faith,  and  by  the  ordinary  rules  of 
war,  were  justly  liable  to  punishment.  A  few  of  these 
men  escaped  death  on  account  of  some  technical  objec 
tions,  and  a  few  others  on  account  of  some  unspecified 
mitigating  circumstances  ;  but  a  general  order  of  the  22d 
of  September,  184*7,  contained  the  appalling  announce 
ment  :  "  After  every  effort  of  the  General-in-Chief  to  save, 


REVIEW  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAR.         209 

by  judicious  discrimination,  as  many  of  these  miserable  con 
victs  as  possible,  FIFTY  of  them  have  paid  for  their  trea 
chery  by  an  ignominious  death  upon  the  gallows." 

We  have  here  a  most  extraordinary  confession.  The 
Commander  of  a  victorious  army  acknowledges  his  inability 
to  rescue  from  death  one  of  these  fifty  men.  Instances 
have  occurred  of  whole  regiments  going  over  to  the  enemy 
on  the  field  of  battle.  In  such  a  case  would  General  Scott 
feel  himself  constrained  to  hang  a  thousand  men,  if  again  in 
his  power  ?  Was  he  ignorant,  that  where  large  numbers 
had  rendered  themselves  amenable  to  punishment,  where 
policy  demanded  an  example,  and  where  humanity  forbade 
a  general  slaughter,  others  had  resorted  to  decimation  and 
the  lot  ?  The  death  of  five  or  ten  of  these  men,  and  the 
corporal  punishment  of  the  rest,  would  have  answered  the 
sternest  demands  of  military  policy.  It  seems  that  the 
execution  of  thirty  out  of  the  fifty  was  intrusted  to  a 
Colonel  Harney.  According  to  the  newspapers,  he  had 
them  brought  out  with  halters  around  their  necks,  and 
arranged  them  under  one  common  gibbet  in  sight  of 
the  Mexican  fortress  of  Chepultepec,  which  the  American 
troops  were  about  to  storm.  He  then  told  them  that  they 
should  live  till  they  saw  the  American  flag  raised  upon 
the  battlements.  The  fortress  was  carried,  the  flag  at 
last  appeared,  and  the  doomed  men  expired.  This  act  of 
Hamey's  has  been  characterized  by  a  foreign  writer,  as  tl  a 
refinement  of  cruelty,  and  a  fiendish  prolongation  at  once 
of  the  ecstacies  of  revenge  and  the  agonies  of  despair." 

Desertion  is  a  crime  which,  in  military  ethics,  it  is  law 
ful  for  each  party  to  encourage  and  reward  in  the  other, 
but  to  denounce  as  atrocious,  and  to  punish  with  death, 
when  committed  against  itself.  General  Scott,  in  his 
orders,  spoke  of  the  Irish  deserters  as  "  deluded  wretches 
— miserable  convicts."  Says  the  correspondent  of  the 
18* 


210  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

New  Orleans  Picayune,  "The  clergy  of  San  Angel 
pleaded  hard  to  save  the  lives  of  these  men,  but  in  vain. 
General  Twiggs  told  them  that  to  Ampudia,  Arista,  and 
Santa  Anna  did  these  men  owe  their  deaths,  for  they 
stooped  to  the  low  business  of  soliciting  desertion  from. 
our  ranks,  and  had  succeeded  in  seducing  from  duty  and 
allegiance  the  poor  wretches  who  had  to  pay  so  dearly 
for  their  crimes."  This  was  in  September.  On  the  13th 
of  the  next  month,  we  have  an  official  despatch  to  General 
Scott,  from  Colonel  Childs,  dated  at  Puebla,  in  which  he 
says,  "I  should  be  unjust  to  myself,  and  the  SPY  COM 
PANY  under  Captain  Pedro  Aria,  if  I  did  not  call  the 
attention  of  the  General-in-Chief  to  their  invaluable  ser 
vices.  From  them  I  received  the  most  accurate  informa 
tion  of  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  and  the  designs  of 
the  citizens ;  through  them  I  was  enabled  to  apprehend 
several  officers  and  citizens  in  their  nightly  meetings,  to 
consummate  their  plans  for  raising  the  populace.  The 
Spy  Company  fought  gallantly,  and  are  now  so  compro 
mised,  that  they  must  leave  the  country  when  our  army- 
retires."  Says  the  New  Orleans  Picayune,  "  The  Mexi 
can  Spy  Company  is  described  as  a  rough-looking  set  of 
men.  They  fight  with  ropes  about  their  necks,  as  the 
saying  is,  and  therefore  they  fight  gallantly.  We  under 
stand  that  we  have  altogether  about  450  of  this  descrip 
tion  of  men  in  our  pay."  Thus  it  appears,  we  had  in  our 
army  a  corps  of  Mexican  scoundrels — and,  as  the  news 
papers  state,  organized  and  taken  into  pay  by  order  of 
General  Scott  himself.  These  men  joined  the  invaders  of 
their  native  land — betrayed  their  fellow-citizens  into  the 
hands  of  a  foreign  enemy — went  with  that  enemy  into  the 
battle,  and  gallantly  aided  them  in  slaughtering  their 
neighbors  and  countrymen,  and  all  this  for  pay  !  "  They 
fight  with  ropes  about  their  necks."  Should  any  of  them 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  211 

be  hereafter  suspended  by  these  ropes,  may  they  not 
be  told  that  they  owe  their  death  to  the  General,  who 
"  stooped  to  the  low  business  of  seducing  them  from  duty 
and  allegiance  ?"  Fifty  Irish  deserters  are  hanged  as 
miserable  convicts;  but  a  gang  of  450  Mexican  spies, 
traitors,  and  murderers,  are  recommended  by  an  American 
Colonel  to  the  attention  of  the  Commander-in-Chief,  for 
their  "  invaluable  services."  Such  are  the  honor  and  mo 
rality  of  war. 

In  May,  1848,  during  the  armistice,  and  while  negoti 
ations  for  peace  were  pending,  a  party  of  American 
officers  and  soldiers,  ten  in  number,  were  arrested  for 
the  crime  of  burglary  and  murder,  committed  in  the  city 
of  Mexico.  It  was  probably  owing  to  the  peculiarly  dis 
graceful  character  of  the  outrage,  and  its  perpetration 
during  a  suspension  of  hostilities,  that  it  was  deemed  ex 
pedient  to  institute  a  judicial  inquiry.  Four  lieutenants, 
two  corporals,  and  one  private  were  tried  and  convicted 
by  a  court-martial,  and  sentenced  to  be  hung.  A  fifth 
officer  "  belonging  to  one  of  the  old  infantry  regiments," 
is  said  to  have  been  implicated  in  the  affair,  but  he  eluded 
arrest.  On  the  conclusion  of  the  peace,  all  the  culprits 
were  pardoned  by  the  6ommanding  officer,  and  set  at 
liberty.  It  is  not  surprising  that  so  large  an  assembly  of 
men  as  an  army,  should  include  some  thieves  and  murder 
ers.  This  case  is  important  only  because,  with  multitudes 
of  others,  it  tends  to  dispel  the  popular  illusion,  that  there 
is  some  mysterious  undefined  connection  between  gallantry 
and  honor,  and  that  a  brave  soldier  must  be  both  honest 
and  merciful.  One  of  these  four  officers  was,  it  seems,  a 
graduate  of  the  West  Point  military  academy  ;  and  of 
another,  a  newspaper  says,  "  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  notice, 
that  Lieutenant  Hare  was  one  of  the  most  ^valiant  spirits 
of  the  army,  during  '  the  battles  of  the  valley/  and  that 


212  REVIEW    OF   THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

on  account  of  his  unconquerable  courage,  he  was  selected 
by  the  commanding  officer  to  command  one  of  the  '  forlorn 
hopes,'  at  the  storming  of  the  Castle  of  Chapultepec. 
He  was  allowed  to  select  fifteen  men  to  accompany  him. 
and  out  of  these  fifteen,  only  five  escaped  the  deadly  fire 
of  the  enemy ;  and  the  Lieutenant  conducted  himself 
throughout  with  the  utmost  coolness  and  high-toned 
courage."  And  yet  his  brother-officers  who  composed  the 
court-martial,  adjudged  him  to  be  a  thief  and  a  mur 
derer. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  213 


CHAPTER     XXVIIL 

THE    AMERICAN    ARMY    IX    MEXICO. 

THE  remarks  already  made  respecting  the  general  im 
moral  tendency  of  the  military  profession,  are  of  course 
more  peculiarly^  applicable  to  the  rank  and  file  of  an 
army.  A  prudent,  intelligent,  industrious,  pious  recruit 
is  a  prodigy.  The  great  mass  of  all  armies,  it  is  well 
known,  is  collected  from  the  ignorant,  reckless,  and 
vicious.  When  such  men  are  brought  into  close  contact 
with  each  other,  and  at  the  same  time  removed  from  the 
restraining  influences  of  domestic  life  and  social  observa 
tion,  their  vicious  propensities  are  of  course  strengthened 
by  mutual  example  and  countenance.  Discipline  may 
prevent  the  commission  of  some  gross  crimes,  but  can  in 
no  degree  improve,  or  even  guard  the  moral  character. 

If  it  be,  indeed,  true,  that  the  profession  of  a  soldier  is 
peculiarly  hazardous  to  his  well-being,  exposing  him  and 
those  within  his  influence,  to  crime  in  this  world,  and  to 
misery  in  the  next,  we  discover  a  new  item  of  the  awful 
responsibility  which  rests  upon  those  who  involve  their 
country  in  war.  In  our  contest  with  Mexico,  80,000  or 
more  Americans,  and  probably  three  times  as  many  Mexi 
cans,  have  been  exposed  to  the  moral  and  physical  inju 
ries  of  military  service.  Could  we  follow  the  survivors 
on  their  return  to  their  homes,  what  a  mass  of  wretched 
ness  should  we  discover,  caused  by  the  habits  they  had 
acquired,  and  the  moral  contamination  of  their  example. 
All  experience  bears  witness  to  the  fidelity  of  the  picture 
drawn  long  since,  of  the  discharged  recruit,  who 


214  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

"  His  three  years  of  heroship  expired, 

Returns  indignant  to  the  slighted  plough. 
He  hates  the  field  in  which  no  fife  or  drum 
Attends  him  ; — drives  his  cattle  to  a  march, 
And  sighs  for  the  smart  comrades  he  has  left. 
'Twere  well,  if  his  external  change  were  all ; 
But  with  his  clumsy  port,  the  wretch  has  lost 
His  ignorance  and  harmless  manners  too. 
To  swear,  to  game,  to  drink,  to  show  at  home 
By  lewdness,  idleness,  and  Sabbath-breach, 
The  great  proficiency  he  has  made  abroad : 
To  astonish  and  to  grieve  his  gazing  friends  ; 
To  break  some  maiden's  and  his  mother's  heart- 
To  be  a  pest,  where  he  was  useful  once, 
Are  his  sole  aim,  and  all  his  glory  now." 

There  is  little  reason  for  believing  that  American 
soldiers  are  more  or  less  addicted  than  others  to  vice 
and  outrage.  The  conduct  of  the  soldier  is  governed 
more  by  discipline  than  by  national  character.  A  large 
portion  of  the  American  force  in  Mexico  consisted  of  a 
class  improperly  called  volunteers,  since,  where  there  is  no 
conscription,  every  enlistment  is  voluntary.  These  volun 
teers,  being  enlisted  for  a  short  period,  and  being  permit 
ted  to  choose  their  officers,  their  discipline  was  probably 
less  perfect  than  that  of  the  regular  army  ;  and  hence  it 
is,  that  the  journals  of  the  day  have  teemed  with  accounts 
of  their  atrocities. 

Of  the  50,000  volunteers  called  into  service,  none  per 
haps  have  afforded  a  more  instructive  commentary  on 
military  patriotism  and  morality  than  the  MASSACHUSETTS 
REGIMENT.  These  men  belonged  to  a  State  surpassed  by 
none  for  the  intelligence,  industry,  and  orderly  deport 
ment  of  its  citizens.  They  had,  moreover,  responded  to 
the  official  assurance  of  the  Governor  of  the  State,  that  it 
wao  the  dictate  of  patriotism  and  humanity  to  save  blood 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  215 

and  money  by  volunteering  to  shoot  Mexicans.*  Passing 
by,  therefore,  the  conduct  of  volunteers  from  other  States, 
we  shall  confine  our  notice  to  these  reputed  descendants 
of  the  Puritans.f  Although  nothing  has  been  heard  of 
their  martial  achievements,  a  few  extracts  from  the  jour 
nals  of  the  day  will  prove  that  they  have  attracted  a 
large  share  of  the  public  attention. 

"  For  some  days  past,  a  strife  has  existed  between  a 
portion  of  the  officers  of  the  MASSACHUSETTS  REGIMENT 
on  the  one  side,  and  nearly  all  the  privates  on  the  other. 
That  eternal  disturber  of  order,  John  Barleycorn,  '  stirred 
up  the  muss.'  The  officers  alleged  that  the  privates 
drank  to  intoxication,  became  disorderly  and  unfit  for 
duty ;  and  to  put  a  stop  to  the  evil,  they  advised  closing 
the  coffee-houses.  The  privates,  on  the  other  hand,  say 
they  drank  to  no  greater  excess  than  did  the  officers  in 
question.  The  war  thus  commenced  waged  fiercely  with 
various  success.  At  one  time,  we  thought  the  men  de 
feated,  from  the  number  of  prisoners  we  saw  marched 
off ;  but  they  managed  to  escape,  and  in  turn  swung  up 
the  leader  of  their  enemies  as  high  as  Haman — i.  e.,  his 
effigy.  The  guards  were  dismissed  from  the  postern,  the 
defences  put  up  to  keep  out  the  Mexicans  levelled  to  the 
earth,  and  the  deuce  played  generally." — Metamoras  Flag. 

"  Major  Abbott,   by  sundry  acts,  has   made    himself 

*  "Whatever,"  says  the  Proclamation  calling  for  volunteers, 
"  may  be  the  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  origin  or  necessity 
of  the  war,  the  constitutional  authorities  of  the  country  have 
declared  that  -war  with  a  foreign  country  does  exist.  It  is  alike 
the  dictate  of  PATRIOTISM  and  HUMANITY,  that  every  means 
honorable  to  ourselves  and  just  to  our  enemy  should  be  employ 
ed  to  bring  said  war  to  a  speedy  and  successful  termination, 
and  thus  abbreviate  its  calamities  and  save  the  sacrifi-  e  of  hurt  tan  life 
and  the  wasting  of  public  treasures. "'  The  best  comment  we 
can  make  on  the  logic  and  morality  of  this  gubernatorial  dictum 
is  to  exhibit  the  character  of  the  men  who  obeyed  the  dictates  of 
patriotism  and  humanity,  as  officially  explained. 

t  The  author  deems  it  just  to  say,  that  he  has  heard  it  assert 
ed  that  many  of  these  volunteers  wore  foreigners. 


216  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

odious  among  the  Americans  in  this  place.  They  hoot 
him  whenever  he  passes  them,  and  last  night  they  went 
so  far  as  to  hang  him  in  effigy.  He  had  three  privates 
whipped  last  night.'' — Letter  from  Metamor as,  N.  0.  Bee. 

"  ESCAPED.  —  The  MASSACHUSETTS  VOLUNTEER,  who 
some  week  or  two  since  stabbed  to  death  with  a  bayonet 
the  partner  of  Mr.  Sinclair  of  our  city,  because  he  refused 
to  give  him  what  he  had  not — a  glass  of  intoxicating  fluid 
— escaped  from  the  guard-house  a  few  nights  since.  It 
is  thought  the  sentinels  on  duty  permitted  him  to  escape." 
— Metamoras  Flag. 

Another  paper  mentions  that  three  MASSACHUSETTS 
VOLUNTEERS  had  deserted,  and  a  fourth  had  been  march 
ed  through  the  streets  of  Metamoras  encased  in  a  whisky 
cask  with  the  word  "  drunkard"  written  on  it. 

The  New  Orleans  Delta  announces  the  arrival  at  that 
city  of  "  a  select  lot  of  murderers,  thieves,  and  villains  of 
every  dye,"  sent  home  by  order  of  General  Taylor,  includ 
ing  "  three  MASSACHUSETTS  VOLUNTEERS." 

"  ANOTHER  MANLY  ACT. — On  Wednesday  evening  last, 
after  nightfall,  several  MASSACHUSETTS  VOLUNTEERS  enter 
ed  the  dwelling  of  a  Mexican  near  the  Upper  Plaza,  and 
demanded  whisky.  A  female  who  officiated  remarked 
that  she  kept  nothing  but  beer.  After  some  remonstrance, 
one  of  the  gentlemen  drew  a  bayonet,  which  he  wore  in 
his  belt,  and  stabbed  the  woman  to  the  heart." — Meta 
moras  Flag. 

It  appears  from  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,* 
that  the  deserters  from  this  regiment,  up  to  31st  Dec., 
1847,  numbered  105. 

"  Head  Quarters,  Vera  Cruz,  15th  October,  1846. 

"  The  following  named  men  (sixty -Jive  in  number)  of 
1st  Regiment  MASSACHUSETTS  Infantry,  being  incorrigibly 

*  Ex.  Doc.,  1st  Sess.,  30th  Cong.,  No.  62,  p.  72. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  217 

mutinous  and  insubordinate,  will  of  course  prove  cowards 
in  the  hour  of  danger,  and  they  cannot  of  course  be  per 
mitted  to  march  with  the  column  of  the  army.  They  are 
disarmed  and  detached  from  the  Regiment,  and  will  re 
port  to  Brevet  Major  Bachus,  for  such  duty  in  the  Castle 
of  San  Juan  De  Ulloa,  as  may  be  performed  by  soldiers 
who  are  found  unworthy  to  carry  arms,  and  arc  a  dis 
grace  and  a  nuisance  to  the  army. 

"  By  order  of  Brig.  Gen.  GUSHING." 

The  following  notices  of  these  men,  on  their  return,  are 
taken  from  the  periodicals  of  the  day.  A  Boston  paper 
says:  "More  than  one-third  of  these,  though  never  in  a, 
battle,  were  dead  or  missing  before  their  return."  The 
Editor  of  the  Buffalo  Commercial  Advertiser,  through 
which  city  they  passed,  says  :  "  We  spent  some  hours  in 
conversation  with  these  poor  fellows,  endeavoring  to  un 
derstand  the  meaning  of  such  overwhelming  squalor, 
want,  and  misery  ;  for  we  do  not  exaggerate  when  we 
say,  that  we  never  beheld  its  parallel  except  at  the  Irish 
emigrant  sheds  in  Canada  last  summer.  The  condition  of 
these  poor  creatures  was  outrageously  offensive  to  every 
human  sense,  as  well  physical  as  moral"  Another  editor, 
after  their  arrival  in  Boston,  remarked  :  "  A  more  pitiable 
set  of  human  beings  we  scarcely  ever  saw — with  unshaven 
beards,  unshorn  hair,  ragged  and  dirty  clothes  of  all 
shapes,  fashions,  colors,  and  conditions,  pale  and  sunken 
faces,  and  a  careless,  unambitious  saunter.  They  were 
truly  objects  of  pity."  A  Boston  editor,  after  visiting 
their  quarters,  exclaims :  '•  We  must  confess  that  the 
condition  of  the  men  touch  us  with  astonishment ;  it  was 
wretched  beyond  condition.  Rags  and  dirt  were  to  be 
seen  in  abundance.  Scarcely  a  man  had  a  whole  pair  of 
pantaloons  on,  and  none  a  second  shirt.  Without  any 
10 


218  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

offence  to  the  soldiers,  we  must  candidly  confess,  they  are 
not  fit  to  be  seen  in  the  streets  of  Boston." 

To  form  a  comprehensive  view  of  the  evils  of  war,  and 
of  the  tremendous  responsibility  of  those  who  commence 
it,  we  must  consider  its  various  and  complicated  assaults 
upon  human  happiness  and  virtue.  The  miseries  we  have 
inflicted  upon  Mexico  will  form  the  subject  of  a  future 
chapter.  We  will  now  advert  to  the  retributive  justice 
thus  far  meted  out  to  the  immediate  agents  by  whom 
those  miseries  have  been  inflicted. 

The  groans  of  the  conquerors  themselves  are  usually 
drowned  in  the  shouts  of  victory,  and  the  glare  of  the 
illumination  fails  to  reveal  the  horrors  of  the  battle-field, 
or  the  more  prolonged  agonies  of  the  hospital.  Eighty 
thousand  American  soldiers,  abandoning  the  comforts  of 
home  and  the  pursuits  of  ordinary  life,  have  been  sub 
jected  to  all  the  privations,  sufferings,  and  evil  influences 
of  military  service  in  a  foreign  land.  When  we  recollect 
their  long  marches,  some  of  them  of  a  thousand  miles 
under  a  burning  sun,  and  not  unfrequently  exposed  to  the 
deadly  vomito,  we  may  readily  believe  that  many  lives 
have  been  lost  through  disease  and  casualties  as  well  as* 
in  battle.  Owing  to  the  imbecility  and  ignorance  of  the 
Mexicans,  the  American  loss  in  the  field  has  been  aston 
ishingly  small,  not  exceeding  5000  in  killed  and  wounded 
in  twenty-eight  battles,  as  appears  from  official  reports. 
But  who  can  count  the  number  who  have  died  in  military 
hospitals,  and  of  others  who,  worn  down  by  disease  and 
vice,  have  found  a  premature  grave  in  their  own  country  ? 
From  very  partial  reports  from  some  of  our  military  hos 
pitals  in  Mexico,  it  appears  that  the  deaths  exceed  those 
that  occurred  on  the  field  of  battle. 

A  ISIew  Orleans  paper,  noticing  the  return  of  the  Ten 
nessee  Regiment  to  that  city,  remarks  :  "  Just  one  year 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  219 

ago  there  passed  through  our  streets  as  noble  and  splen 
did  a  body  of  men  as  ever  went  forth  to  battle.  They 
were  about  nine  hundred  strong.  On  Friday  last,  the 
whole  of  this  gallant  regiment  arrived  in  our  city.  It 
numbers  just  three  hundred  and  jifty-^-about,  one-third 
the  force  with  which  it  left ;  and  this  loss  it  has  sustained 
in  a  twelve  months'  campaign  !  It  has  lost  on  an  average 
fifty  men  a- month." 

Of  the  Second  Regiment  of  Mississippi  Rifles,  one  hun 
dred  and  sixty-seven  died  of  disease.  Said  Mr.  Hudson 
in  Congress  :  "  Our  late  associate,  Colonel  Baker,  declared 
in  his  speech  on  this  floor,  that  of  his  regiment  about  one 
hundred  had  left  their  bones  in  the  Valley  of  the  Rio 
Grande,  and  that  about  two  hundred  more,  worn  down 
by  hardships,  and  emaciated  by  disease,  had  been  dis 
missed  to  perish  by  the  way,  or  to  find  their  graves  with 
their  friends  at  home ;  that  all  this  mortality  had  taken 
place  in  about  six  months,  and  that  this  regiment  had 
never  seen  the  foe.  He  also  informed  us,  that  what  was 
true  of  his  regiment  was  generally  true  of  other  regiments 
of  volunteers.  We  are  informed  by  the  answer  of  the 
Adjutant- General  to  a  resolution  of  this  House,  that  in  a 
period  of  from  sixty  to  ninety  days  after  the  volunteers 
had  joined  the  army  in  the  field,  their  numbers  Were  re 
duced  by  disease  six  hundred  and  thirty-seven,  and  by 
discharges,  in  consequence  of  sickness  and  disability,  be 
tween  two  and  three  thousand.  This  estimate  does  not 
include  the  sick  which  remain  with  the  army.''  * 

"  I  call  the  attention  of  this  body  and  of  the  country  to 
the  immense  sacrifice  of  human  life  now  making  to  carry 
on  this  war.  The  official  documents  before  us  show  that 
twenty-three  thousand  nine  hundred  and  ninety-eight 

*  Speech,  Feb.  13,  1847.     App.  to  Cong.  Globe,  p.  369. 


220  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

officers  and  men  entered  the  service  during  the  first 
eight  months  of  this  war  ;  that  fifteen  thousand  four  hun 
dred  and  eighty-six  remained  in  service  at  the  close  of 
that  time ;  that  three  hundred  and  thirty-one  had  de 
serted  ;  that  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  two  had 
been  discharged,  leaving  FIVE  THOUSAND  NINE  HUNDRED 
AND  NINETEEN  unaccounted  for."* 

The  Rev.  Mr.  McCarty,  a  chaplain  in  the  army,  wrote 
from  the  city  of  Mexico :  "  I  have  now  in  the  regular 
army  eleven  hospitals  to  visit,  with  one  in  the  Quarter 
master's  department,  which  requires  a  great  deal  of  my 
time.  The  numher  on  the  sick  report  in  this  city  exceeds 
three  thousand  men !"  "  We  all  know,"  said  Mr.  R.  John 
son  in  the  Senate,  "  that  at  the  commencement  of  the  last 
Session  of  Congress,  there  were  actually  buried  on  the 
banks  of  the  Rio  Grande,  of  those  who  had  died  of 
disease,  twenty-five  hundred  men."f  Col.  Childs,  in  his 
official  report,  13th  Oct.,  1847,  states  that  on  taking  com 
mand  of  Puebla,  the  hospitals  were  "filled  with  1,800 
sick."  A  New  Orleans  paper,  noticing  the  return  of  the 
3d  and  4th  Tennessee  regiments,  says  that  they  lost  360 
by  death,  although  neither  regiment  had  been  in  action. 
The  same  paper  declares,  that  of  419  men  composing  the 
Georgia  battalion,  220  died  in  Mexico. 

We  could  fill  sheets  with  extracts  from  the  public  jour 
nals,  giving  mournful  details  of  the  ravages  of  disease  in 
our  Mexican  army.  Let  the  following  from  a  southern 
paper,  and  an  advocate  for  the  war,  suffice.  "At  Perote 
there  were  2,600  American  graves,  all  victims  of  disease, 
and  at  the  city  of  Mexico  the  deaths  were  most  of  the 
time  1,000  a- month.  The  first  regiment  that  went  out 
from  Mississippi  buried  155  men  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio 

*  Speech  of  Mr.  Giddings,  Feb.  3, 1847.    Cong.  Globe,  p.  405 
f  Cong.  Globe,  Dec.  30,  1847. 


REVIEW    OF    THE   MEXICAN    WAR.  221 

Grande  before  it  went  into  battle,  and  finally  brought  back 
less  than  half  of  its  number.  Two  regiments  from  Penn 
sylvania  went  out  1,800  strong,  and  came  home  with 
about  600.  Two  regiments  from  Tennessee  without  be 
ing  in  any  battle,  lost  300  men.  Capt.  Naylor,  of  Penn 
sylvania,  took  down  a  company  of  104  men,  and  brought 
back  17.  He  went  into  the  battle  of  Contreras  with  33, 
and  came  out  of  it  with  19.  But  the  most  frightful  in 
stance  of  mortality  was  in  the  Georgia  battalion.  It  went 
to  Mexico  419  strong  ;  about  230  actually  died  ;  a  large 
number  were  discharged  with  ruined  constitutions,  many 
of  them  doubtless  gone  long  since  to  their  graves,  and 
thus  the  battalion  was  reduced  to  34  men  fit  for  duty  ! 
On  one  parade  when  a  certain  company,  once  mustering 
more  than  100  men,  was  called,  the  call  was  answered  by 
a  single  private,  its  only  living  representative.  From  offi 
cers  of  many  other  regiments  we  have  received  details 
very  similar  to  the  above,  which  may  be  taken  as  a  pretty 
fair  average  of  the  losses  in  the  volunteer  regiments — the 
regulars  did  not  suffer  to  the  same  extent." 

Mr.  CLAY  in  a  public  speech,  estimated  the  loss  of  our 
countrymen  in  the  first  eighteen  months  of  the  war  as 
equal  to  one  half  the  whole  loss  sustained  in  our  seven 
years'  revolutionary  struggle ! 

Mr.  CALHOUN  declared  on  the  floor  of  Congress  that 
the  mortality  of  our  troops  could  not  be  less  than  twenty 
per  cent. 

If  then  we  estimate  the  total  mortality  of  our  troops 
including  those  slain  and  such  as  afterwards  died  of  their 
wounds,  and  those  who  have  expired  in  Mexico  and  at 
home  of  diseases  contracted  in  camp,  at  TWENTY  THOU 
SAND,  we  shall  be  in  little  danger  of  exaggerating  the 
amount.  If  we  next  turn  our  regards  to  the  wives  and 
children  and  relatives  of  these  twenty  thousand,  we  find 
19* 


222  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

a  still  expanding  multitude  upon  whom  the  war  has 
brought  lamentation  and  woe. 

Once  more  follow  in  imagination  the  survivors,  on  their 
return  home.  Mark  the  germinating  seeds  of  moral  and 
physical  disease  implanted  by  war  in  their  constitutions, 
and  about  to  bear  bitter  and  deadly  fruits. 

In  that  approaching  day  when  the  Judge  of  quick  and 
dead  shall  make  inquisition  for  blood,  those  who  have  kin 
dled  the  flames  of  war,  will  be  called  to  justify  the  num 
berless  and  immeasurable  evils  both  spiritual  and  tempo 
ral  they  have  inflicted  upon  their  fellow -men,  upon  their 
enemies  as  well  as  upon  their  own  countrymen. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  223 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

SUFFERINGS    INFLICTED    ON    MEXICO    BY    THE    WAR. 

THE  extreme  feebleness  of  Mexico,  arising  from  the  igno 
rance  and  superstition  of  her  inhabitants,  was  aggravated 
by  the  vast  extent  of  her  territories.  This  great  extent, 
by  rendering  it  difficult  to  collect  a  formidable  force  at 
any  extreme  point,  rendered  her  whole  frontier  accessible 
to  the  invader.  In  about  four  months  after  the  com 
mencement  of  hostilities  northern  Mexico,  from  Tampico 
on  the  Atlantic  to  St.  Diego  on  the  Pacific,  was  a  con 
quered  country. 

The  smallness  of  the  forces  by  which  the  various  con 
quests  were  effected,  attests  the  helplessness  of  the  Mexi 
cans,  and  the  vigor  of  their  enemies.  In  a  little  more 
than  twelve  months,  the  American  standard  waved  over 
the  famous  castle  of  Vera  Cruz,  and  the  capital  of  the 
Republic  was  garrisoned  by  American  troops.  From 
that  capital  a  corps  of  one  thousand  men  could  probably 
have  traversed  the  Republic  in  every  direction,  through  a 
hostile,  but  almost  unresisting  population.  After  the  cap 
ture  of  Thornton's  party,  which  General  Taylor  announced 
as  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  not  a  battle,  not  a 
skirmish  occurred  in  which  the  Mexicans  were  not  de 
feated,  no  matter  how  vast  their  superiority  in  numbers. 
The  ancient  promise,  "  ten  shall  chase  a  thousand,"  seem 
ed  to  be  verified  in  the  marvellous  success  of  the  Ameri 
can  arms.*  In  ordinary  cases,  an  invading  army  is  neces- 

*  In  the  battle  of  Brazito,  the  American  force  under  Col. 
Doniphan  was  less  than  five  hundred;  that  of  the  enemy,  1200 


224  REVIEW  or  THE  MEXICAN  WAR. 

sarily  confined  to  a  narrow  track,  and  is  restrained  by  fear 
of  the  enemy  from  dividing  itself  into  detachments.  But 
the  unhappy  Mexicans  found  the  invaders  spreading  them 
selves  over  the  country  in  every  direction,  and  small  par 
ties  taking  possession  of  populous  towns.  We  may  easily 
imagine  the  innumerable  and  horrible  insults  and  excesses 
endured  by  the  Mexicans,  from  a  victorious  and  scornful 
enemy,  conscious  alike  of  his  power  and  his  impunity,  and 
far  removed  from  the  restraint,  however  feeble,  of  public 
opinion. 

Unaware  of  the  vast  superiority  of  their  enemy  in  all 
the  dread  machinery  of  war,  the  Mexicans  unhappily  ha 
zarded  the  bombardment  of  Vera  Cruz.  Three  thousand 
shells,  each  weighing  ninety  pounds  were,  it  is  said,  thrown 
into  that  devoted  city,  besides  about  the  same  number  of 
round  shot.  For  more  than  three  days  did  this  horrible 
tempest  beat  upon  Vera  Cruz.  "The  darkness  of  the 
night  was  illuminated  with  the  blazing  shells  circling 
through  the  air.  The  roar  of  artillery,  and  the  heavy  fall 
of  descending  shot,  were  heard  through  the  streets  of  the 

The  Americans  lost  not  a  single  man,  and  had  but  seven  slightly 
wounded  ;  the  Mexicans  were  utterly  routed,  with  a  loss  of  193 
killed  and  wounded. 

The  result  of  the  battle  of  Sacramento  is  thus  described  in  an 
official  report :  "  The  first  shadows  cast  by  the  moon,  found  the 
American  army  camped  upon  the  battle-field,  after  having  in  a 
contest  of  four  hours  annihilated  a  force  six  times  their  number, 
and  driven  the  enemy  from  four  positions  of  great  natural 
strength,  fortified  by  thirty-six  forts  and  redoubts,  having 
taken  four  times  their  strength  in  artillery,  the  whole  trans 
portation,  food,  and  ammunition  of  the  Mexicans,  and  performed 
a  march  of  twenty  miles  without  water."  Col.  Doniphan  tells 
us,  "  The  field  was  literally  covered  with  the  dead  and  wounded 
from  our  artillery,  and  the  unerring  fire  of  our  riflemen.  Night 
put  a  stop  to  the  carnage."  The  Mexicans  had  nineteen  pieces 
of  cannon,  and  were  sheltered  by  forts  and  redoubts,  while  the 
Americans  advanced  to  the  attack  on  an  open  plain.  The  vic 
tors,  in  a  fight  of  four  hours,  had  one  man  killed,  and  eight 
wounded.  Triumphs  over  such  enemies,  afford  little  cause  for 
military  pride. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  225 

besieged  city.  The  roofs  of  buildings  were  on  fire,  the 
domes  of  churches  reverberated  with  fearful  explo 
sions." 

This  splendid  scene,  and  the  consequences  accompany 
ing  it,  must  have  been  viewed  with  high  satisfaction,  by 

"  The  foe  to  all  happiness  human." 

An  officer  of  the  navy,  in  an  account  written  a  few  days 
after,  says  :  "  The  bombardment  lasted  three  days  and  a 
half.  The  city  was  greatly  injured,  the  shells  and  round 
shot  striking  all  over  the  town.  One  part  near  a  small 
battery  was  utterly  destroyed ;  and  from  the  stench  in  the 
neighborhood,  if,  is  to  be  feared  that  the  bodies  of  very 
many  poor  women  and  children,  are  buried  in  the  ruins. 
I  was  in  the  Governor's  palace,  a  very  fine  building, 
occupying  one  side  of  the  Plaza,  and  was  looking  into  a 
very  handsome  room  where  it  was  evident  a  shell  had 
struck,  when  a  Mexican  gentleman  came  up  and  offered  to 
show  me  over  the  house.  I  followed  him,  and  directly  we 
came  to  what  had  evidently  been  a  superb  room,  but  then 
almost  entirely  torn  to  pieces.  He  pointed  to  a  place 
beside  the  door  which  was  blown  out — "  there,"  said  he, 
"  sat  a  lady  and  her  two  children,  they  were  killed  by  the 
shell  which  has  wrought  the  injury  you  see." 

Another  officer  says,  that  during  the  bombardment, 
"  many  of  our  officers  at  night  crawled  up  close  to  the 
walls  to  hear,  and  represented  the  screeching,  crying,  and 
lament  of  the  women  and  children,  and  wounded,  as 
being  dreadful." 

A  visitor,  immediately  after  the  surrender,  tells  us  :  "A 
shell  struck  the  Charity  Hospital  where  the  sick  inmates 
were  lying,  and  killed  twenty-three."  Says  Mr.  Kendall, 
an  eye-witness  :  "  The  city,  or  at  least  the  northern  part 
of  it,  has  been  torn  all  to  pieces — the  destruction  i* 


226         REVIEW  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAR, 

dreadful.  It  is  impossible  to  get  at  the  loss  of  the  Mexi 
cans  by  the  bombardment ;  yet  it  is  certain  that  women, 
children,  and  non-combatants,  have  suffered  the  most. 
The  National  Palace  on  the  Plaza,  had  Jive  shells  burst 
within  it ;  one  of  which,  killed  a  woman  and  two  children 
lying  asleep  in  the  kitchen." 

"  I  rode  to  the  town,"  says  another  writer,  "  to  see 
what  effect  our  shells  had  on  it.  I  was  prepared  to  see 
much  destruction,  but  was  perfectly  amazed.  The  town 
is  on  its  south-westerly  side  almost  destroyed.  The 
citizens  of  Yera  Cruz  say,  the  bombs  did  the  most 
injury.  They  would  fall  on  the  houses,  their  weight 
carrying  them  from  roof  to  cellar,  and  then  burst,  opening 
the  houses  from  top  to  bottom,  and  killing  all  within." 

Mr.  Hine,  thus  describes  his  visit,  the  day  of  the  sur 
render.  "  Scarcely  a  house  did  I  pass,  that  did  not  show 
some  great  rent  made  by  the  bursting  of  our  bomb-shells. 
During  my  peregrinations,  I  came  to  a  lofty  and  noble 
mansion  in  which  a  terrible  bomb  had  exploded,  and  laid 
the  whole  front  of  the  house  in  ruins.  While  I  was  exam 
ining  the  awful  havoc  created,  a  beautiful  girl  of  some 
seventeen  came  to  the  door,  and  invited  me  into  the 
house.  She  pointed  to  the  furniture  of  the  mansion  torn 
into  fragments,  and  the  piles  of  rubbish  lying  around,  and 
informed  me,  while  her  beautiful  eyes  filled  with  tears, 
that  the  bomb  had  destroyed  her  father,  mother,  brother, 
and  two  little  sisters,  and  that  she  was  now  left  in  the 
world  alone  ! 

"  During  the  afternoon,  I  visited  the  hospital.  Here 
lay  upon  truckle-beds,  the  mangled  creatures  who  had 
been  wounded  during  the  bombardment.  In  one  corner 
was  a  poor  decrepid,  bed-ridden  woman,  her  head  white 
with  the  sorrows  of  seventy  years.  One  of  her  withered 
arms  had  been  blown  off  by  a  fragment  of  a  shell.  In 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  227 

another  place  might  be  seen  mangled  creatures  of  both 
sexes,  bruised  and  disfigured  by  the  falling  of  the  houses, 
and  the  bursting  of  shells.  On  the  stone  floor  lay  a  little 
child  in  a  complet*  state  of  nudity,  with  one  of  its  poor 
legs  cut  off  just  above  the  knee  !  Not  even  this  abode  of 
wretchedness  had  been  exempted  from  the  accursed 
scourge  of  war.  A  bomb  had  descended  through  the 
roof,  and,  after  landing  on  the  floor,  exploded,  sending 
some  twenty  already  mangled  wretches,  to  the  " '  sleep  that 
knows  no  waking.'  " 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  Mexican  account, 
written  amid  the  ruins  of  the  city.  "  The  enemy,  hi 
accordance  with  his  character,  selected  a  barbarous  mode 
of  assassinating  the  unoffending  and  defenceless  citizens, 
by  a  bombardment  of  the  city  in  the  most  horrible  man 
ner,  throwing  into  it  four  thousand  one  hundred  bombs, 
and  an  innumerable  number  of  balls  of  the  largest  size  ; 
directing  his  shots  to  the  powder  magazine,  to  the  quarter 
of  hospitals  of  charity,  to  the  hospitals  for  the  wounded, 
and  to  the  points  he  set  on  fire,  where  it  was  believed  the 
public  authorities  would  assemble  with  persons  to  put  it 
out ;  to  the  baker's  houses  designated  by  their  chimneys, 
and  during  the  night  raining  over  the  entire  city,  bombs, 
whose  height  was  perfectly  graduated  with  the  time  of 
explosion,  that  they  might  ignite  in  falling,  and  thus  cause 
the  maximum  of  destruction.  His  first  victims  were 
women  and  children,  followed  by  whole  families,  perishing 
from  the  effects  of  the  explosions,  or  under  the  ruins  of 
their  dwellings. 

"  At  the  second  day  of  the  bombardment,  we  were 
without  bread  or  meat,  reduced  to  a  ration  of  beans,  eaten 
at  midnight  beneath  a  shower  of  fire.  By  this  time,  all 
the  buildings  from  La  Mercede  to  the  Paeraguia,  were 
reduced  to  ashes,  and  the  impassable  streets  filled  with 


228  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

ruins  and  projectiles.  The  third  day  the  enemy  alternately 
scattered  their  shot,  and  now  every  spot  was  a  place  of 
danger.  The  principal  bake-houses  no  longer  existed — 
no  provisions  were  to  be  had." 

The  details  we  have  given  of  this  bombardment,  afford 
us  some  intimations  of  the  sufferings  occasioned  by  the 
assaults  upon  the  cities  of  Monterey  and  Mexico.*  We 
enter  into  no  particulars  of  the  battles  fought  in  Mexico. 
Every  battle-field  is  necessarily  one  of  horrors ;  but,  as 
the  sufferers  are  those  who  came  there  to  inflict  upon 
others  the  very  fate  of  which  they  are  themselves  the 
victims,  they  claim  and  excite  less  of  our  sympathy  than 
the  mothers  and  their » mangled  infants  of  Vera  Cruz, 
whose  shrieks  of  agony  swelled  the  triumphal  shout 
which  greeted  the  American  General. 

In  all  our  conflicts  in  Mexico,  the  slaughter  of  the 
enemy  has  been  tremendously  aggravated,  by  their  natural 
and  military  imbecility.  Mr.  Thompson,  our  former 
Minister,  in  his  work  on  Mexico,  remarks  :  "I  do  not 
think  that  the  Mexican  men  have  much  more  strength 
than  our  women.  They  are  generally  of  diminutive 
stature,  and  wholly  unaccustomed  to  labor  or  exercise  of 
any  sort.  What  must  be  the  murderous  inequality  be 
tween  a  corps  of  American  cavalry,  and  an  equal  number 
of  Mexicans  ?"  He  regards  the  superiority  of  Americans 
to  Mexicans  as  "  five  to  one  at  least  in  individual  combats, 
and  more  than  twice  that  in  battle."  Hence  it  is,  that 
the  Mexican  loss  in  battle  has  been  prodigious.  It  is 

*  A  letter  from  a  Mexican  published  in  the  newspapers,  says  : 
"  In  some  cases  whole  blocks  were  destroyed,  and  a  great  number 
of  men,  women,  and  cMldrent1slled  and  wounded.  The  picture 
was  awful.  One  deafening  roar  filled  our  ears — one  cloud  of 
smoke  met  our  eyes,  now  and  then  filled  with  flame  ;  and  amid 
it  all,  we  could  hear  the  shrieks  of  the  wounded  and  dying. 
Altogether,  we  cannot  count  our  killed,  wounded,  and  missing, 
at  loss  than  four  thousand,  among  whom  are  many  women  and 
children." 


REVIEW  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAR.         229 

impossible  to  ascertain  the  amount  of  that  loss  with  any 
precision,  but  there  is  little  hazard  in  asserting  that  the 
action  of  Congress  in  May,  1846,  has  consigned  fifty 
thousand  Mexicans  to  a  premature  grave,  and  ten  times 
that  number  to  poverty  and  wretchedness. 

In  the  vast  number  of  falsehoods  of  which  this  war  has 
been  so  prolific,  may  be  included  the  general  unqualified 
eulogiums  passed  by  its  advocates  upon  the  humanity  of 
the  American  soldiery.  We  are  not  aware  of  any  peculiar 
trait  in  our  national  character,  that  would  render  our  sol 
diers  remarkable  for  meekness  and  forbearance,  or  that 
would  necessarily  counteract  that  arrogance  and  selfishness 
which  are  the  natural  fruits  of  a  bloody  trade,  and  of  mili 
tary  superiority.  But  national  vanity  is  ever  ready  to 
believe  a  flattering  lie,  and  demagogues  equally  ready  to 
offer  incense  to  every  popular  delusion.  It  is  our  object 
to  tell  the  truth,  and  by  so  doing,  to  exhibit  the  odious  and 
execrable  character  of  war.  American  soldiers  are  like 
other  soldiers,  just  what  war,  and  discipline  or  the  want 
of  it,  may  make  them.  Human  nature  is  the  same  in 
every  land,  and  its  evil  propensities  are  equally  developed 
under  similar  circumstances.  It  would  have  been  an 
anomaly  in  the  history  of  mankind,  if  soldiers,  flushed 
with  victory  and  scattered  over  a  conquered  country,  and 
holding  the  vanquished  in  utter  contempt,  had  not  been 
guilty  of  great  atrocities.  It  would  be  but  cumbering 
our  pages  to  detail  the  various  instances  of  cruelty  and 
oppression  perpetrated  by  our  troops,  which  have  found 
their  way  into  the  public  prints.  A  few  specimens,  selected 
from  journals  supporting  the  war,  and  therefore  not  dis 
posed  to  throw  unjust  odium  on  the  American  army,  will 
suffice  to  prove  that  our  assertions  on  this  point  are  not 
unsupported  by  facts : 

"  Buena  Vista,  August  20. — A  ranger  is  missed,  search 
20 


230  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

is  made  for  him  by  his  comrades,  his  body  is  perhaps 
found,  perhaps  not.  The  nearest  Mexicans  to  the  vicinity 
of  his  disappearance  are  required  to  account  for  him. 
They  will  not,  or  cannot.  The  bowie  knife  is  called  for, 
and  deliberately  every  male  Mexican  in  that  rancho  is 
speedily  done  for,  guilty  or  not  guilty.  But  this  is  not 
enough  to  make  an  offset  for  the  life  of  a  Texan.  Another 
rancho  receives  the  fearful  visit,  and  again  blood  flows." 

"  Camargo,  January  8,  1847. — Assassinations,  riots, 
robberies,  &c.,  are  so  frequent  that  they  do  not  excite 
much  attention.  Nine-tenths  of  the  Americans  here  think 
it  a  meritorious  act  to  kill  or  rob  a  Mexican." 

In  Camp,  Walnut  Springs  (near  Monterey],  April  25, 
1847. — "  You  have  published  accounts  of  the  disgraceful 
outrage  perpetrated  before  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista,  and 
will  be  no  less  shocked  to  learn  that  an  equally  sickening- 
scene  of  outrageous  barbarity  has  been  perpetrated  in 
this  region  by  persons  calling  themselves  Americans.  It 
appears  that  near  a  little  town  called  Guadaloupe,  an 
American  was  shot  two  or  three  weeks  ago  ;  and  his  com 
panions  and  friends  determined  to  revenge  his  death.  Ac 
cordingly  a  party  of  a  dozen  or  twenty  men  visited  the 
place  and  deliberately  murdered  twenty-four  Mexicans.'* 

The  correspondent  of  the  Louisville  Republican  writ 
ing  from  Aqua  Nueva,  after  mentioning  that  the  body  of 
a  murdered  Arkansas  volunteer  had  been  found,  says? 
"The  Arkansas  men  vowed  vengeance  deep  and  sure. 
Yesterday  morning  a  number  of  them,  some  thirty  persons, 
went  to  the  foot  of  the  mountain  two  miles  off,  to  an  arrego 
which  is  washed  in  the  sides  of  the  mountain,  to  which  the 
'  pisanos*  of  Aqua  Nueva  had  fled  upon  our  approach,  and 
soon  commenced  an  indiscriminate  and  bloody  massacre  of 
the  poor  creatures  who  had  thus  fled  to  the  mountains  and 
fastnesses  for  security.  A  number  of  our  regiment  being 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  231 

out  of  camp,  I  proposed  to  Colonel  Bissell  to  mount  our 
horses  and  ride  to  the  scene  of  carnage,  where  I  knew 
from  the  dark  intimations  of  the  night  before,  that  blood 
was  running  freely.  We  had  turned  out  as  rapidly  as 
possible,  but  owing  to  the  thick  chapperels,  the  work  of 
death  was  over  before  we  reached  the  horrible  scene,  and 
the  perpetrators  were  returning  to  the  camp  glutted  with 
revenge.  God  knows  how  many  of  the  unarmed  peasantry 
have  been  sacrificed  to  atone  for  the  blood  of  poor  Col- 
quit.  The  Arkansas  regiment  say  not  less  than  thirty 
have  been  killed." 

This  anonymous  account  of  the  massacre  is  sustained  by 
the  following  order  of  General  Taylor : — "  The  Command 
ing  General  regrets  most  deeply  that  circumstances  again 
impose  upon  him  the  duty  of  issuing  orders  upon  the 
subject  of  marauding  and  maltreating  the  Mexicans.  Such 
deeds  as  have  recently  been  perpetrated  by  a  portion  of 
the  Arkansas  cavalry  cast  indelible  disgrace  upon  our 
arms,  and  the  reputation  of  our  country.  The  General 
had  hoped  that  he  might  be  able,  in  a  short  time,  to  re 
sume  offensive  operations ;  but  if  orders,  discipline,  and 
all  the  dictates  of  humanity  are  set  at  defiance,  it  is  vain 
to  expect  anything  but  disaster  and  defeat.  The  men 
who  cowardly  put  to  death  unoffending  Mexicans  are  not 
those  who  will  sustain  the  honor  of  our  arms  in  the  day 
of  trial." 

If  the  General  meant  to  intimate  that  cruelty  and 
bravery  are  incompatible,  he  is  contradicted  by  the  unani 
mous  testimony  of  all  military  history. 

The  correspondent  of  the  Charleston  Mercury,  writing 
from  Monterey  after  its  capture,  says,  "  As  at  Metamoras, 
murder,  robbery,  and  rape,  were  committed  in  the  broad 
light  of  day  ;  and,  as  if  desirous  to  signalize  themselves  at 
Monterey  by  some  new  act  of  atrocity  they  burned  many 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

of  the  thatched  huts  of  the  poor  peasants.  It  is  thought 
that  more  than  one  hundred  of  the  inhabitants  were  mur 
dered  in  cold  blood." 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  where  human  life  is  thus 
atrociously  sacrificed  with  impunity,  the  decencies  of  so 
ciety  and  the  rights  of  property  will  be  respected.  A 
correspondent  of  the  New  Orleans  Picayune  writes  from 
Ceralvo :  "  On  arriving  at  Mier,  w~e  learned  that  the 
second  regiment  of  Indiana  Troops  had  committed,  the 
day  before,  outrages  against  the  citizens  of  the  most  dis 
graceful  character,  stealing,  or  rather  robbing,  insulting 
the  women,  breaking  into  houses,  and  other  feats  of  similar 
character.  Recently  the  people  here  have  received  treat 
ment  from  men  stationed  here,  that  negroes  in  a  state  of 
insurrection  would  hardly  be  guilty  of.  The  women  have 
been  repeatedly  violated  (almost  an  every  day  affair), 
houses  broken  open,  and  insults  of  every  kind  have  been 
offered  to  those  whom  we  were  bound  to  protect." 

The  correspondent  of  the  St.  Louis  Republican,  writing 
from  Santa  Fe,'  Aug.  12,  1846,  says,  "I  regret  to  say, 
nearly  the  whole  territory  has  been  subject  to  violence, 
outrage,  and  oppression,  by  the  volunteer  soldiery  against 
all  alike  without  distinction." 

When  we  reflect  how  extensively  Mexico  has  been 
traversed  by  our  troops,  we  cannot  doubt  that  a  prodigious 
amount  of  property  has  been  most  wantonly  destroyed. 
We  are  told  by  one  of  the  letters  describing  a  Mexican 
defeat,  "  Captain  Morier  followed  up  his  advantage  with 
decision,  pursued  the  enemy,  and  devastated  the  valley  of 
the  Moro,  burning  everything  in  his  path.  The  people, 
terrified,  fled  to  the  mountains  where  death  in  the  shape 
of  starvation  awaits  them."  "  Between  Metamoras  and 
Monterey,"  says  another,  "nearly  all  the  ranchos  and 
towns  are  destroyed." 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  233 

General  Scott,  when  about  marching  from  Jalapa, 
upon  Mexico,  issued  an  order  which  is  a  singular  illus 
tration  of  military  morality.  He  tells  his  army  that  it 
can  no  longer  receive  supplies  from  Vera  Cruz,  but  must 
trust  for  them  to  the  resources  of  the  country — that  the 
people  must  be  paid  for  provisions,  or  "  they  will  with 
hold,  conceal,  or  destroy  them.  The  people  moreover 
must  be  conciliated,  soothed  and  well-treated  by  every 
officer  and  man  of  this  army,  and  by  its  followers."  This 
preamble  is  succeeded  by  a  declaration  almost  avowedly 
prompted  by  the  fact,  that  supplies  could  no  longer  be 
brought  from  Vera  Cruz :  "  Whoever  maltreats  unoffend 
ing  Mexicans,  takes  without  pay,  or  wantonly  destroys 
their  property,  of  any  kind  whatsoever,  will  prolong  this 
war,  waste  the  means  present  and  future  of  subsisting  our 
men  and  animals,  as  they  successively  advance  into  the 
interior,  or  return  to  our  water  depot  (Vera  Cruz);  and 
no  army  can  possibly  drag  after  it  to  any  considerable 
distance,  no  matter  what  the  season  of  the  year,  the 
heavy  articles  of  breadstuff,  meat,  and  forage.  Those, 
therefore,  who  rob,  plunder,  or  destroy  the  houses,  fences, 
cattle,  poultry,  grain,  fields,  gardens  or  property  of  any 
kind  along  the  line  of  our  operations,  are  plainly  the  ene 
mies  of  this  army.  The  General-in-Chief  would  infinitely 
prefer  that  the  few  who  commit  such  outrages  would  de 
sert  at  once  and  fight  against  us.  Then  it  would  be  easy 
to  shoot  them  down,  or  capture  and  hang  them." 

Military  discipline  confines  to  the  commanding  officer 
the  prerogative  of  plundering  the  enemy,  and  he  would 
no  doubt  wish  to  protect  it  from  encroachment  at  all  times. 
On  the  present  occasion  the  General  thought  proper  to 
dissuade  the  army  from  indulging  their  larcenous  propen 
sities,  not  from  motives  of  justice  and  humanity,  but  the 
difficulty  of  procuring  supplies  ! 
20* 


234  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

This  same  General,  in  an  order  issued  at  Vera  Cruz,  1st 
April,  1847,  declared  that  "  many  undoubted  atrocities 
have  been  committed  in  this  neighborhood  by  a  few  worth 
less  soldiers,  both  regulars  and  volunteers."  The  army 
was  about  marching  into  the  interior,  and  to  conciliate  the 
inhabitants,  and  remove  the  unfavorable  impressions  made 
by  these  "  atrocities,"  he  issued  a  proclamation  promising 
protection  to  the  Mexicans,  and  telling  them,  that  for  out 
rages  committed  upon  them,  several  Americans  had  already 
been  punished  by  fine  and  imprisonment,  and  one  "  has 
been  hung  by  the  neck."  "  Is  not  this,"  said  he,  "  a 
proof  of  good  faith  and  energetic  discipline  ?"  The  Gene 
ral  did  not  tell  the  Mexicans  how  very  cheap  a  sacrifice 
he  had  offered  to  propitiate  them.  The  one  "  hung  by 
the  neck,"  was  a  NEGRO,  and  hence  no  military  popularity 
was  lost  by  his  execution,  and  being  a  free  negro,  no  pro 
perty  was  destroyed.  We  have  no  evidence  that  during 
the  whole  war,  a  single  soldier  was  punished  with  death 
for  any  outrage  committed  on  Mexicans,  however  atro 
cious. 

General  Taylor,  in  a  despatch  to  the  War  Department, 
16th  June,  1847,  remarks,  "I  deeply  regret  to  report 
that  many  of  the  twelve  months'  volunteers,  in  their  route 
hence  of  the  lower  Rio  Grande,  have  committed  extensive 
depredations  and  outrages  upon  the  peaceable  inhabitants. 
There  is  scarcely  a  form  of  crime  that  has  not  been  reported 
to  me  as  committed  by  them." 

A  great  number  of  Mexican  towns  were  captured  and 
held  by  our  forces.  We  may  judge,  from  a  single  exam 
ple,  what  kind  of  municipal  government  has  most  probably 
been  exercised  by  our  officers.  Twelve  months  after  the 
capture  of  Monterey,  its  social  condition  was  thus  describ 
ed  by  Colonel  Tibbats,  in  an  official  proclamation  :  "  The 
undersigned,  by  virtue  of  an  order  of  the  commanding 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR  235 

:  General,  has  assumed  the  office  of  military  and  civil  Gov- 
i  ernor  of  Monterey.     Finding  the  command  assigned  to 
i  him,  virtually  without  law  or  order,  and  infested  with  rob- 
I  bers,  murderers,  gamblers,  vagrants,   and  other  evil  dis 
posed  persons,  the  worst  of  criminals  going  free,  unscathed 
of  justice,  and  rapine  and  even  murder  stalking  abroad  in 
open  day  without  fear  of  punishment,  inasmuch  that  the 
peaceable  inhabitants  thereof  have  no  protection  either  of 
person  or  property,"  &c. 

The  following  official  declaration  is  of  a  character  that 
forbids  us  to  doubt,  that  the  oppression  of  the  Mexicans 
has  been  most  aggravated.  General  Kearney,  writing  to 
the  War  Department,  15th  March,  1847,  in  reference  to 
some  insurrectionary  movements,  says  :  "  The  Californi- 
ans  are  now  quiet,  and  I  shall  endeavor  to  keep  them  so 
by  mild  and  gentle  treatment.  Had  they  received  such 
treatment  from  the  time  our  flag  was  hoisted  in  July  last, 
I  believe  there  would  have  been  but  little  or  no  resistance 
on  their  part.  They  have  been  most  cruelly  and  shame 
fully  abused  by  our  own  people,  by  volunteers  (Ameri 
can  emigrants)  residing  in  this  part  of  the  country,  and 
on  the  Sacramento.  Had  they  not  resisted,  they  would 
have  been  unworthy  of  the  name  of  men. ''* 

To  the  individual  sufferings  arising  from  military  vio 
lence,  has  been  added  that  general  suffering  in  which 
the  whole  Mexican  population  has  participated,  necessarily 

*  We  do  not  know  the  particulars  here  referred  to ;  but  the  fol 
lowing  item  from  the  news  of  the  day  gives  us  some  intimation  of 
the  spirit  manifested  by  the  conquerors.  "  Lieuts.  Beal,  Tal- 
bot  and  others,  left  San  Diego  February  25th,  bringing  impor 
tant  intelligence.  At  Taos,  the  Court  had  condemned  a  large 
number  of  the  insurgents.  Eleven  had  been  hung,  and  many 
whipped.  Six  were  hung  the  day  Lieut.  Talbot  passed  through 
Taos.  These  executions  created  great  excitement  among  the 
Mexicans,  and  efforts  were  making  to  stimulate  insurrection, 
and  raise  volunteers  for  a  rebellion." 


236  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

resulting  from  the  annihilation  of  their  commerce.  Every 
seaport  of  the  Republic,  whether  on  the  Atlantic  or  Pa 
cific,  has  been  occupied  by  American  forces.  Hence,  the 
Mexicans  have  been  denied  the  privilege  of  exchanging 
their  surplus  productions  for  the  necessaries  and  conveni 
ences  they  had  been  accustomed  to  receive  from  foreign 
countries.  Not  a  Mexican  vessel  floated  on  the  ocean  ;  of 
course,  all  imports  and  exports  were  in  the  hands  of  for 
eigners,  and  subjected  to  such  duties  as  the  invaders 
thought  proper  to  impose.  Those  duties,  moreover,  in 
stead  of  being  appropriated  as  heretofore  to  the  common 
good,  were  seized  by  the  conqueror  for  his  own  use.  Nor 
was  his  rapacity  to  be  thus  satiated.  The  ordinary  muni 
cipal  taxes  became  his  spoil.  Thus,  for  example,  a  Cap 
tain  commanding  in  the  city  of  Metamoras,  issued  his 
rescript  requiring  "  the  owners  of  all  stores,  groceries,  bil 
liard-tables,  hotels,  eating-houses,  brick-yards,  gambling- 
houses,  cock-pits,  and  manufactories  of  liquors,"  to  pay  at 
his  office,  each  month  the  taxes  on  their  respective  esta 
blishments.  The  Commander-in-Chief  thought  proper 
personally  to  direct  and  control  the  squeezing  process. 
On  the  15th  December,  1847,  General  Scett  issued  an 
order  beginning  with  the  portentous  announcement  : 
"  This  army  is  about  to  spread  itself  over  and  occupy  the 
Republic  of  Mexico,  until  the  latter  shall  sue  for  peace 
in  terms  acceptable  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States." 
He  then  proceeds  to  decree  that,  "  On  the  occupation  of 
the  principal  point  or  points  in  any  State,  the  payment  to 
the  Federal  Government  of  this  Republic  of  all  taxes  or 
dues  of  whatever  name  or  kind,  heretofore,  say  in  the 
year  1844,  payable  or  collected  by  that  Government,  is 
absolutely  prohibited,  as  all  such  taxes  or  dues  will  be 
demanded  of  the  proper  civil  authorities  for  the  support 
of  the  army  of  occupation."  Thus  were  duties  on  imports 


REVIEW    OF    THE   MEXICAN    WAR.  237 

and  exports,  municipal,  and  all  other  taxes  authorized  by 
Mexico  in  time  of  peace  and  prosperity,  to  be  extorted  by 
a  foreign  army  from  the  miserable  impoverished  people, 
i  One  would  have  supposed  that  such  exactions  might  have 
!  satisfied  the  Americans.  But  no — Mr.  Polk  had,  from  the 
imoment  he  commenced  the  war,  been  sighing  for  PEACE. 
General  Scott  had,  indeed,  conquered  Mexico,  but  he  had 
not  conquered  a  peace ;  and  an  organized  system  of  plun 
der  was  to  effect  what  his  troops  and  bombs  had  failed  to 
accomplish.  Hence,  a  second  order  was  issued  on  the 
31st  December,  1847,  from  Head  Quarters,  imposing  on 
several  of  the  Mexican  States  a  contribution  amounting 
to  A  MILLION  OF  DOLLARS.  The  following  is  an  extract 
from  this  order  :  "On  the  failure  of  any  State  to  pay  its 
assessment,  its  functionaries,  as  above,  will  be  seized  and 
imprisoned,  and  their  property  seized,  registered,  reported, 
and  converted  to  the  use  of  the  occupation,  in  strict  accord 
ance  to  the  general  regulations  of  this  army.  No  resigna 
tion  or  abdication  of  office,  by  any  of  the  said  Mexican 
'functionaries,  shall  excuse  any  of  them  from  the  above 
penalties.  If  the  foregoing  measures  should  fail  to  en- 
i  force  the  regular  payment  as  above  from  any  State,  the 
commanding  officer  of  the  United  States  forces  within  the 
jsame,  will  immediately  proceed  to  collect  in  money  or 
kind  from  the  wealthier  inhabitants  (other  than  neutral 
friends)  within  his  reach,  the  amount  of  the  assessment 
due  from  the  State."* 

This  was  the  same  General  who,  in  his  proclamation 
addressed  "  to  the  Mexican  nation,"  from  Jalapa,  May 
llth,  1847,  assured  them,  that  "  The  army  of  the  United 
States  respects,  and  WILL  ALWAYS  respect,  private  pro- 

*  It  is  but  justice  to  General  Scott  to  mention,  that  he  acted 
in  accordance  with  instructions  from  Mr.  Polk,  who,  without 
any  authority  from  Congress,  assumed  the  power  of  imposing 
taxes  and  collecting  duties  in  Mexico. 


238  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

perty."  He  who  directed  officers  of  the  United  States 
forces,  when  assessments  on  Mexican  States  are  not  paid, 
to  proceed  to  collect  them  from  the  wealthier  inhabitants, 
is  the  same  Commander-in-Chief  who,  in  his  order  of  the 
preceding  April,  wished  that  such  of  his  soldiers  as  stole 
poultry,  grain,  &c.,  from  the  Mexicans,  would  desert  at 
once,  as  then  it  would  be  easy  to  shoot  them  down,  or  to 
capture  and  hang  them.  Among  other  devices  for  ex 
torting  money,  in  connexion  with  the  promised  regene 
ration  of  the  Mexicans,  was  the  official  allowance  of  THREE 
GAMING-HOUSES  in  the  Capital,  in  consideration  of  the 
annual  sum  of  eighteen  thousand  dollars,  payable  in 
monthly  instalments.* 

We  can  understand  why  Mr.  Polk  and  his  southern  par 
tisans  deemed  it  expedient  to  acquire  Mexican  territory  at 
any  cost  of  blood,  treasure,  and  happiness  ;  but  surely 
we  may  ask  of  northern  Democrat  and  northern  Whigs, 
why  have  you  brought  pillage,  desolation,  and  death 
upon  the  people  of  Mexico  ?  What  offence  had  they 
committed  which,  in  the  sight  of  God,  can  justify  such 
horrible  retribution  at  your  hands  ?  Why  have  you,  who 
have  no  interest  in  the  extension  of  human  bondage, 
fought  the  battles,  not  of  freedom,  but  of  slavery? 
When  summoned,  as  you  will  shortly  will  be,  before  that 
dread  tribunal,  which,  in  another  world,  takes  cogniz 
ance  of  every  act  committed  in  this,  on  what  plea  do  you 
expect  to  vindicate  that  stupendous  mass  of  human  misery 
and  human  wickedness  which  your  agency  has  helped  to 
accumulate  ? 

*  It  appears  from  the  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
(Dec.,  1848),  that  the  sum  of  $3,844,000  was  in  these  various 
ways  extorted  from  the  Mexicans.  The  value  of  property  de 
stroyed  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  has  been  estimated  at  four  mil 
lions.  The  total  annihilation  of  Mexican  property,  caused  by 
the  invasion,  no  arithmetic  can  compute. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  239 

Mr.  Root,  of  Ohio,  one  of  the  lt  immortal  fourteen,"  in 
a  speech  delivered  after  the  triumph  of  our  arms,  and  the 
acquisition  of  the  "  indemnity  "  demanded  by  Mr.  Polk, 
thus  expressed  himself  on  the  floor  of  Congress  : — "  But 
where  shall  the  widow  look  for  indemnity  ?  Where  shall 
the  mother,  made  childless  by  this  war,  look  for  her  in 
demnity  ?  Where  shall  the  orphan  children,  whose  fa 
thers  have  fallen  in  battle,  or  by  disease  in  that  distant 
land,  look  for  their  indemnity  ?  Can  any  of  these  new 
acquisitions,  under  this  treaty,  indemnify  them  ?  It  does 
seem  to  me,  sir,  that  in  all  this  bloody  business,  the  men 
who  have  been  most  active  in  it,  have  regarded  this  war 
only  in  relation  to  the  effect  it  is  likely  to  have  on  future 
elections,  and  they  have  not  once  thought  how  it  will  be 
regarded  by  the  Judge  of  all.  And  when  I  think  of 
these  things,  I  thank  my  God,  humbly  thank  him,  that 
He  gave  me  the  nerve  and  the  firmness  to  stand  up  here 
in  my  place,  and  say  "  no  "  first,  and  "  no  "  last,  and  "  no" 
at  all  times,  on  every  measure  designed  for  the  prosecu 
tion  of  this  accursed  war.  And,  sir,  I  rejoice  that,  when 
I  approach  the  last  agony  of  earth,  whatever  other  guilt 
may  press  me,  none  of  the  victims  of  this  war  can  meet 
me  and  say, — 

'  Let  my  fate  sit  heavy  on  thy  soul  to-morrow.' " 


240  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

COST  OF  THE  WAR  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

ONE  of  the  professed  objects  of  the  war,  after  the  pre 
tence  of  repelling  invasion  had  been  abandoned,  was  the 
indemnification  of  "  our  much-injured  citizens,"  that  is, 
the  collection  of  a  few  millions  of  alleged  debt.  Our  fleet 
and  army  were  employed  to  collect  this  debt,  and  accord 
ing  to  Mr.  Polk,  the  costs  of  collection  were  to  be  added 
to  the  sum  due.  We  not  only  gave  judgment  in  our  own 
cause,  but  taxed  our  own  costs.  Those  costs,  as  nearly  as 
can  be  ascertained,  will,  when  finally  settled,  exceed  ONE 
HUNDRED  MILLIONS  OF  DOLLARS.  In  civil  life,  the  very 
attempt  to  compel  a  debtor  to  pay  a  bill  of  costs  twenty 
times  the  amount  of  the  debt  claimed,  would  be  deemed 
scandalous  extortion.  How  far  the  determination  of  a 
powerful  government,  to  extort  such  a  bill  from  a  feeble, 
exhausted  State  by  slaughter  and  devastation,  is  divested 
of  criminality  on  account  of  its  national  character,  is  a 
question  embarrassing  only  to  those  who  have  persuaded 
themselves  that  statesmen  and  politicians  are  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  a  peculiar  and  relaxed  morality.  The  idea 
that  reparation  is  due  to  Mexico  for  a  ruthless  invasion, 
the  devastation  of  her  cities,  the  plunder  of  her  provinces, 
the  slaughter  of  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  her 
people,  has  been  advanced,  only  to  be  denounced  as  un 
patriotic,  if  not  treasonable. 

We  have  levied  upon  Mexican  territory,  for  the  hundred 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  241 

millions  we  have  spent  in  attempting  to  collect  a  paltry 
debt,  which,  after  all,  we  have  remitted  by  the  treaty  of 
peace.  Mr.  Polk  declared  his  determination  to  prosecute 
the  war  till  "  full  indemnity"  had  been  obtained ;  but  he 
failed  to  tell  us  by  what  moral  arithmetic  he  ascertained 
what  number  of  square  miles  of  slave  territory  will  afford 
a  "  full  indemnity  "  for  the  misery,  falsehood,  and  crime 
engendered  by  his  war. 

Many  a  successful  plaintiff  has  found,  to  his  mortifi 
cation,  that  he  has  impoverished  his  adversary  without 
enriching  himself,  and  that  the  fruits  of  his  victory  have 
been  pocketed  by  the  agents  he  employed.  A  similar 
discovery  may  be  in  reserve  for  the  American  people. 
The  question  what  they  have  gained  by  the  war,  will,  in 
time  force  itself  upon  their  attention.  To  this  inquiry,  no 
other  answer  can  be  returned  than  GLORY  AND  TERRITORY. 

Before  we  proceed  to  investigate  the  true  value  of  these 
spoils  of  victory,  let  us  dwell  a  moment  on  their  pecuniary 
costs. 

The  direct  expenditures  in  waging  this  war,  from 
the  departure  of  Taylor  from  Corpus  Christi,  to 
the  exchange  of  the  ratifications  of  the  treaty  of 
peace,  cannot,  at  the  most  moderate  estimate, 
be  less  than  -  -  $100,000,000 

The  money  to  be  paid  Mexico,  for  ceding  the  re 
quired  territories,  and  thus  saving  us  the  cost 
of  protracted  hostilities,  is  -  -  -  -  15,000,000 

The  cost  of  the  army  from  the  conclusion  of  the 
war,  to  its  disbandment,  including  its  trans 
portation  home,  say  -  2,000,000 

The  extra  pay  for  three  months  to  all  soldiers 
who  had  been  engaged  in  the  war,  allowed  by 
act  of  Congress,  estimated  at  ....  8,000,000 

Every  soldier,  or  his  heir,  is  entitled  to  160  acres 

of  land,  or  in  lieu  thereof,  at  his  option,  $100. 

Supposing  only  75,000  claims  to  be  presented, 

and    to   be    paid    in    land,   the  valuo  of    the 

21 


242  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

land,  at  the  price  fixed  by  Congress  -would  be 
$16,000,000.  But  to  avoid  the  semblance  of 
exaggeration,  "we  will  suppose  these  claims  com 
muted  at  $  100  each,  making  7,500,000 

The  award  under  the  treaty  of  1839,  due  by  Mex 
ico,  and  assumed  by  treaty  of  peace,  with 
interest, 2,000,000 

The  Government  has  also  assumed,  by  treaty,  the 
payment  of  such  unliquidated  claims  against 
Mexico  as  may  be  found  valid,  not  exceeding 
$3,250,000,  out  of  $6, 455, 462  demanded.  Should 
none  but  valid  claims  be  allowed,  the  sum  to  be 
paid  may  amount  to  500,000 


Making  the  total  cost,  in  money,  of  new  terri 
tory,  $130,000,000 

The  above  estimate,  it  is  believed,  is  very  moderate, 
and  much  below  the  estimates  usually  made.  But  let  it 
be  recollected,  that  it  is  an  estimate  only  of  the  direct 
expenditures  of  the  Federal  Government,  for  the  acqui 
sition  of  the  coveted  territories. 

For  nearly  two  years,  at  least  140,000  men,  as  soldiers, 
teamsters,  artificers,  &c.,  have  been  diverted  from  pro 
ductive  industry,  and  engaged  in  occupations,  adding 
nothing  to  the  real  wealth  of  the  country,  or  the  comfort, 
happiness,  and  morality  of  its  citizens.  The  time  and 
labor  of  these  men  have  therefore  been  literally  wasted, 
and  consequently  what  they  would  have  added  to  the 
common  stock  in  time  of  peace,  is  to  be  included  in  the 
cost  of  the  war.  Many  of  these  individuals  have,  more 
over,  been  brought  to  an  untimely  grave,  and  probably  a 
still  greater  number  disqualified  for  future  usefulness  by 
vice  and  disease.  The  operations  of  commerce  have, 
moreover,  been  deranged,  and  enterpnze  paralyzed  by  a 
monetary  pressure,  occasioned  by  a  drain  of  specie  from 
our  great  cities,  to  be  expended  in  Mexico — and  wide- 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  243 

spread  bankruptcy  only  prevented,  by  an  unusual  and 
accidental  demand  for  our  bread-stuffs  in  Europe. 
When  all  these  facts  are  taken  into  consideration,  and 
when  we  recollect  that  interest  is  to  be  paid  during  many 
future  years,  on  the  money  borrowed,  and  that  large 
drafts  are  yet  to  be  made  on  the  treasury  for  pensions 
and  for  indemnities  for  private  losses  and  injuries,  it  will 
not  be  thought  extravagant  to  assume,  that  the  indirect 
cost  of  the  war  will  be  little,  if  any  less  than  the  sum 
actually  expended  for  its  prosecution. 

Dr.  Franklin,  long  since  remarked,  that  nothing  was 
ever  acquired  by  war  that  might  not  have  been  obtained 
at  a  less  cost  by  purchase.  For  the  territory  of  Louisi 
ana,  even  more  extensive  and  greatly  more  valuable  than 
that  we  have  wrested  from  Mexico,  we  paid  815,000,000. 
For  Texas  we  offered  $5,000,000,  and  at  a  previous  day 
we  had  offered  only  $1,000,000  for  Texas,  with  a  portion 
of  California. 

Mr.  Polk  would  have  shrunk  from  offering  fifty  millions 
for  the  very  land  which  he  has  now  bought  at  such  a  vast 
amount  of  blood  and  treasure.  It  is  impossible  to  resist 
the  conviction  that,  by  honest  negotiation,  we  might  have 
become  the  masters  of  these  territories  without  crime, 
without  human  butchery,  and  at  a  far  less  cost  in  money 
than  the  sum  we  have  paid. 

The  mighty  sum  we  have  exchanged  for  glory  and  ter 
ritory,  has  added  not  one  cent,  to  the  productive  capital 
of  the  country,  nor  brought  one  new  comfort  or  conveni 
ence  within  reach  of  its  population. 

For  all  useful  practical  purposes,  this  amount  of  the 
nation's  capital  has  been  annihilated.  But  it  is  easy  to 
imagine  how  such  a  sum  might  have  been  expended  in 
modes  resulting  in  a  prodigious  augmentation  of  the  re 
sources  of  the  nation,  and  the  virtue  and  enjoyments  of 


244  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

the  people.  Such  a  sum  might  have  spread  a  net-work 
of  railroads  and  telegraphic  wires  over  the  country,  unit 
ing  in  bonds  of  interest  and  intercourse  the  remotest  in 
habitants  of  our  vast  empire.  It  would  have  opened 
through  Oregon  a  channel  by  which  the  commerce  of 
India  and  China  would  in  a  few  days  have  reached  every 
portion  of  our  Confederacy.  Or  it  might  have  given 
security  and  facility  to  our  magnificent  inland  navigation, 
and  formed  safe  and  capacious  harbors  on  our  mediter 
ranean  seas.  Or  it  might  have  carried  science  and  useful 
knowledge  to  the  inmates  of  every  dwelling  in  our  Re 
public  ;  and  in  various  ways  have  been  made  conducive 
to  the  diffusion  of  virtue  and  religion.  The  mere  interest 
of  this  sum  is  vastly  greater  than  is  annually  contributed 
by  Christendom  to  evangelize  the  world.  The  disposal 
of  this  treasure  was  a  talent  which,  in  the  providence  of 
God,  was  entrusted  to  our  rulers :  whether  the  use  they 
have  made  of  it  proves  them  to  have  been  good  and  faith 
ful  servants  will  be  declared  on  that  day  in  which  they 
shall  give  an  account  of  their  stewardship. 

We  should,  however,  take  a  most  erroneous  and  limited 
view  of  the  cost  of  this  war  to  the  United  States,  were 
we  to  confine  our  estimates  to  the  millions  which  have 
been  expended  in  its  prosecution,  or  to  the  personal  suf- 
feringi  it  has  occasioned.  Before  we  can  sum  up  the 
total  cost,  we  must  add  to  the  blood,  the  groans,  the 
treasure,  we  have  bartered  for  victory  and  conquest,  the 
political  and  moral  evils  the  war  has  bequeathed  to  the 
nation — evils  as  extensive  as  the  bounds  of  the  Republic, 
and  whose  effects  upon  the  happiness  of  individuals  will 
continue  to  be  felt  when  time  shall  be  no  more. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  245 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

POLITICAL   EVILS    OF    THE    WAR. 

ALL  war  is  necessarily  unfavorable  in  its  tendencies  to  the 
liberties  and  prosperity  of  a  State,  even  when  waged  for 
the  defence  or  recovery  of  freedom.  The  burthens  it 
imposes,  the  arbitrary  authority  it  confers,  and  the  dis 
positions  it  fosters,  are  all  adverse  to  popular  rights. 
These  tendencies  are,  of  course,  controlled  and  modified 
by  circumstances.  The  late  war,  having  been  carried  on 
wholly  without  the  limits  of  our  own  country,  did  not 
inflict  upon  our  citizens  those  violations  of  right  and  those 
oppressive  exactions  which  are  ever  experienced  on  the 
theatre  of  hostilities.  It  has  nevertheless  shown  itself  a 
dangerous  foe  to  constitutional  liberty. 

We  have  seen  in  the  preceding  pages  that  most  pro 
vident  and  ample  preparations  were  made  for  the  com 
mencement  of  the  war  on  the  Rio  Grande,  and  for  the 
seizure  of  California,  not  only  without  the  sanction,  but 
even  without  the  knowledge  of  Congress.  It  is  utterly 
impossible  that  Congress  would  have  issued,  or  the  peo 
ple  have  tolerated,  a  declaration  of  war  against  Mexico, 
either  to  compel  her  to  pay  our  alleged  claims,  or  to 
withdraw  her  troops  and  magistrates  from  her  villages  on 
the  Rio  Grande.  Hence,  it  was  deemed  necessary  first  to 
provoke  a  collision,  and  then  to  appeal  to  Congress  to 
defend  the  country  from  invasion  !  The  war,  therefore, 
although  recognized  and  prosecuted  by  Congress  after  its 
commencement,  was  in  fact  and  in  truth  begun  in  conse- 
12* 


246  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

quence  of  orders  issued  by  the  President  on  his  own  re 
sponsibility,  and  not  in  pursuance  of  any  constitutional  or 
legal  authority.  He  had,  indeed,  as  Commander-in-Chief, 
a  right  to  direct  the  movements  of  the  troops,  but  not  in 
such  a  manner  as  necessarily  and  designedly  to  involve 
the  country  in  war.  Most  truly,  therefore,  did  the  House 
of  Representatives  declare  that  the  war  had  been  uncon 
stitutionally  begun  by  the  President. 

Yet  has  this  usurpation  of  power,  leading  to  the  sacri 
fice  of  thousands  of  lives  and  millions  of  treasure,  been 
unvisited  with  punishment.  The  offence  has  found  an 
apology  in  the  triumphs  to  which  it  has  led  ;  and  thus  a 
sanction  has  been  given  to  a  precedent,  that  invests  the 
President  of  the  Republic  with  the  royal  prerogative  of 
bringing  upon  the  nation  the  calamities  of  war. 

Nor  is  this  the  only  instance,  in  which  the  President  in 
his  own  person  has  exercised  powers  belonging  only  to  the 
legislative  branch  of  the  Government.  Although  not  per 
mitted  by  the  Constitution  to  appoint  of  his  own  will  and 
pleasure,  a  single  officer,  or  to  take  from  the  treasury  a 
single  cent,  he  established  a  system  of  tariffs  and  internal 
taxation  in  Mexico,  appointing  a  horde  of  collectors,  and 
accumulating  at  his  own  disposal,  all  the  revenue  that 
could  be  extorted  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  from  the 
miserable  and  impoverished  Mexicans  ;  and  all  this  with 
out  the  slightest  warrant  from  Congress.* 

*  "  I  am  under  a  deep  conviction,  that  the  President  has  no 
right  whatever,  to  impose  taxes  internal  and  external  on  the 
people  of  Mexico.  It  is  an  act  without  the  authority  of  the 
Constitution  or  laws,  and  eminently  dangerous  to  the  country. 
If  the  President  can  exercise,  in  Mexico,  a  power  expressly  given 
to  Congress,  which  he  cannot  exercise  in  the  United  States,  I 
would  ask  where  is  the  limit  to  his  power  in  Mexico  ?  Has  he 
also  the  power  of  making  appropriations  of  money  collected  in 
Mexico,  without  the  sanction  of  Congress  ?  This  he  has  olrendy 
done.  Has  he  the  power  to  apply  the  money  to  whatever  pur- 
pooes  he  may  think  proper,  and,  among  others,  to  raise  a  mili 
tary  force  in  Mexico,  -without  the  sanction  of  Congress  ?  This 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  247 

He  has  also,  by  his  sovereign  will  and  pleasure,  estab 
lished  civil  Governments  in  New  Mexico  and  California, 
appointed  Governors,  organized  courts  of  justice,  commis 
sioned  magistrates,  &c.,  without  even  consulting  Congress, 
and  with  no  law  whatever,  authorizing  the  exercise  of  these 
high  prerogatives,  or  providing  for  the  salaries  of  the  nu 
merous  civil  officers  he  has  seen  fit  to  appoint.  It  ap 
pears  from  the  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  Dee.  4, 
1847,  that  the  duties  collected  in  California,  "have  been 
applied  towards  the  support  of  the  civil  Government." 
Thus  has  the  President,  of  his  own  will  and  pleasure,  not 
only  appointed  officers,  but  paid  them  salaries  at  his  dis 
cretion.  Thus  have  a  people,  jealous  of  their  liberties  per 
mitted,  in  the  delirium  of  victory  and  conquest,  their  chief 
magistrate  to  assume  over  vast  regions  the  most  unlimited 
and  despotic  authority,  grasping  at  once  the  sword  and 
the  purse.  Henceforth  it  is  to  be  part  of  our  theory  of 
Government,  that  during  war,  the  President  of  the  United 
States  is  released  from  all  constitutional  restrictions,  so  far 
as  he  acts  without  the  limits  of  the  country,  and  that  he  is 
wholly  beyond  the  control  of  Congress.  The  immense 
power  and  patronage  thus  conferred  on  the  President  by 
a  state  of  war,  may  hereafter  prove  a  strong  inducement 
with  that  officer  to  plunge  his  country  into  hostilities,  and 
to  postpone  the  return  of  peace. 

The  course  pursued  by  Congress  has  apparently  been 
directed  by  the  principle,  that  when  the  country  has  once 

ah'>  he  k  >s  already  done." — Speech  nf  Mr.  Ca'kmm  in  Senate,  March, 
1848 

"Is  the  establishment  of  a  code  of  customs  in  Mexico,  an  act 
of'  war,  or  derived  from  wpr.  or  on  a  I  of  legislation?  Why, 
ele.irly  it  is  t.no  Utter  I  wr.nt  <r.  know  how  the  President  of 
the  Uni*el  Stiles  can  overturn  the  revenue  law  of  Mexico,  and 
establish  a  now  one  in  ii.s  stead  anT,  more  rhan  he  can  overturn 
the  law  of  tne  descent  of  property,  the  law  of  inheritance,  tho 
criminal  code,  or  any  other  portion  of  Mexican  law  ?" — Mr. 
Webster's  Speech  in  Senate,  March,  1848. 


248  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

been  involved  in  war,  no  matter  by  what  means,  or  for 
what  objects,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  representatives  of  the 
people  to  afford  to  the  President  every  facility  he  de 
mands  for  its  prosecution,  however  wicked  or  injurious 
it  may  be. 

Not  only  has  the  public  mind  become  accustomed  to 
executive  usurpation,  but  it  has  lost,  in  its  admiration  of 
military  success,  that  jealousy  of  military  power,  which  is 
a  most  powerful  safeguard  of  republican  liberty.  We 
have  been  utterly  heedless  of  the  melancholy  example  ex 
hibited  by  Mexico  herself,  of  the  disastrous  influence  of  a 
thirst  for  martial  renown.  The  astonishing  facility  with 
which  that  country  was  overrun  and  prostrated  by  our 
troops,  cannot  be  accounted  for  solely  by  the  paralyzing 
effect  of  the  Mexican  church  on  the  progress  of  science 
and  civilization.  Ever  since  her  independence,  Mexico 
has  fostered  a  military  spirit ;  but  it  was  a  spirit  that  con 
sumed  her  very  vitals.  The  resources  of  the  State  were 
squandered  on  the  army,  and  the  army  through  its  gene 
rals  governed  the  State.  The  blessings  of  peace  were 
despised,  and  the  citizens,  instead  of  combining  for  the 
common  welfare,  were  divided  into  partisans  of  rival  Gen 
erals.  Revolution  succeeded  revolution  in  rapid  succes 
sion,  one  chieftain  supplanting  another.  A  civilian  was 
scarcely  ever  placed  at  the  head  of  the  State,  the  reins  of 
government  being  almost  invariably  committed  to  hands 
that  grasped  the  sword.  The  history  of  the  Republic  of 
Mexico  has  been  a  history  of  military  insurrections  and 
usurpations.  Even  when  invaded  by  a  foreign  enemy, 
military  factions  and  rival  chiefs  paralyzed  the  strength 
of  the  nation,  and  rendered  her  an  easy  prey.  All  the 
records  of  the  past  bear  witness  to  the  fact,  that  popular 
Generals  have  been  the  chief  destroyers  of  Republics. 
Yet  the  American  people,  deaf  to  the  warnings  of  his- 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  249 

toiy,  have  apparently  become  infatuated  with  military 
glory,  and  have  recently  given,  various  indications  of  their 
preference  for  men  who  have  served  their  country  in  the 
field,  over  such  as  have  merely  labored  to  advance  her 
prosperity  and  happiness,  by  cultivating  the  arts  of  peace. 
The  arbitrary  spirit  engendered  by  war,  and  the  idea 
which  it  fosters,  that  all  rights  and  interests  must  yield  to 
the  public  safety,  are  both  necessarily  hostile  in  their  ten 
dency,  to  the  free  expression  of  opinion  adverse  to  its 
prosecution.  It  is  not  surprisng  that  the  authors  of  the 
Mexican  war — a  war  so  open  to  animadversion,  and  waged 
for  purposes  so  sectional  and  odious — should  wish  to  dis 
courage  all  investigation  into  its  true  character ;  and  all 
efforts  to  thwart  the  accomplishment  of  its  object.  No 
law  could  silence  the  press,  nor  arrest  debate  in  Congress, 
nor  discussion  among  the  people.  But  the  hope  seems  to 
have  been  indulged,  that  public  opinion  might  be  so  di 
rected,  as  to  produce  what  legislation  could  not  effect. 
On  the  popularity  of  the  war  might  depend  not  merely 
its  successful  prosecution,  and  the  consequent  acquisition 
of  the  coveted  territories,  but  the  predominance  of  the 
democratic  party,  and  the  continued  possession  of  power 
and  emoluments  by  the  present  incumbents  of  office. 
Hence  Mr.  Polk,  in  his  first  Message  after  the  commence 
ment  of  hostilities,  attempted  to  intimidate  his  opponents 
by  insinuating  that  they  were  treacherous  to  the  cause  of 
their  country.  "  The  war,"  said  he,  "  has  been  repre 
sented  as  unjust  and  unnecessary,  and  as  one  of  aggres 
sion  on  our  part  upon  a  weak  and  injured  enemy.  Such 
erroneous  views,  though  entertained  by  but  few,  havo 
been  widely  and  extensively  circulated,  not  only  at  home, 
but  have  been  spread  throughout  Mexico,  and  the  whole 
world.  A  more  effectual  means  could  not  have  been  de 
vised  to  encourage  the  enemy,  and  protract  the  war,  than 


250  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

to  advocate  and  adhere  to  their  cause,  and  thus  give  them 
'  aid  and  comfort.''  It  is  a  source  of  national  pride  and 
exultation,  that  the  great  body  of  the  people  have  thrown 
no  such  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  Government  in  prose 
cuting  the  war  successfully,  but  have  have  shown  them 
selves  to  be  eminently  patriotic,  and  ready  to  vindicate 
their  country's  honor  and  interests  at  any  sacrifice." 

Here  we  have  a  most  arrogant  impeachment,  by  the 
first  magistrate  of  the  Union,  of  the  patriotism  of  such  of 
his  fellow-citizens,  including  no  small  portion  of  the  very 
Congress  he  was  addressing,  who  in  the  exercise  of  the 
very  rights  guaranteed  to  them  by  the  Constitution  of 
their  country,  ventured  to  express  the  opinion,  that  the 
war  in  which  he  had  involved  the  nation,  was  unjust,  un 
necessary,  and  aggressive.  Mr.  Polk  did  not  deem  it  pru 
dent  to  denounce  in  plain  terms,  the  opponents  to  his 
measures  as  TRAITORS  to  their  country,  and  meriting  an 
ignominious  death,  but  preferred  doing  it  by  implication  ; 
and  hence  applied  to  all  such  as  pronounced  his  war  un 
just,  unnecessary,  and  aggressive,  the  technical  terms, 
" giving  aid  and  comfort"  to  enemies,  vised  by  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States  (Art,  III.  Sect.  1),  in  de 
fining  the  crime  of  TREASON.  If  this  gentleman  did  indeed 
believe,  that  a  conscientious  opposition  to  an  existing  war, 
is  inconsistent  with  patriotism,  and  equivalent  to  the  crime 
of  giving  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemy,  he  is  ignorant  not 
merely  of  the  first  principles  of  ethics,  but  of  the  course 
pursued  by  some  of  the  most  illustrious  statesmen  and 
patriots  who  have  adorned  the  pages  of  modern  history. 

What  said  Lord  Chatham,  the  celebrated  Prime  Minis 
ter  of  England,  who  had  led  his  nation  to  victory  and 
power,  and  whose  memory  is  embalmed  in  the  grateful 
remembrance  of  his  countrymen?  This  great  man  during 
the  American  war,  declared  in  Parliament.  '•  If  1  were  an 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  251 

American,  as  I  am  an  Englishman,  while  a  foreign  troop 
was  landed  in  my  country,  I  would  never  lay  down  my 
arms — never — never — never."  Fox  even  refused  to  con 
cur  in  a  vote  of  thanks  to  officers  for  the  victories  they 
had  achieved,  in  what  he  believed,  to  be  an  unjust  war. 
Numerous  distinguished  members  of  the  British  Parlia 
ment  were  active  and  persevering  in  their  opposition 
to  the  war.  So  again,  the  war  waged  by  Great  Britain 
against  the  French  Republic,  was  freely  denounced  as 
unjust  and  unnecessary,  by  statesmen  high  in  the  confidence 
of  the  nation.  The  recent  war  against  China,  frequently 
called  the  Opium  War,  was  sternly  denounced  by  a  large 
portion  of  the  British  public  as  most  iniquitous.  At  a 
public  meeting  in  London,  at  which  a  British  peer,  the 
Earl  of  Stanhope,  presided,  it  was  resolved  :  "  That  this 
meeting  deeply  laments  that  the  moral  and  religious 
feelings  of  the  country  should  be  outraged,  the  character 
of  Christianity  disgraced  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  and  this 
kingdom  involved  in  war  with  upwards  of  three  hundred 
and  fifty  millions  of  people,  in  consequence  of  British 
subjects  introducing  opium  into  China,  in  direct  and 
known  violation  of  the  laws  of  that  Empire."  The 
meeting  concurred  in  a  petition  to  Parliament,  for  an 
immediate  peace,  and  ordered  that  their  proceedings 
should  be  translated  into  the  Chinese  language,  and  for 
warded  to  the  Emperor  of  China.  Yet  no  Minister  of  the 
Crown,  no  member  of  Parliament,  ventured  to  denounce 
this  Constitutional  expression  of  opinion  as  treasonable. 
In  our  own  country  we  have  seen  men  of  the  purest 
character,  the  most  unquestionable  patriotism,  opposing 
the  war  of  1812  with  Great  Britain,  as  unnecessary, 
impolitic,  and  unjust.  No  Constitutional  monarch  in 
Europe  would  venture  to  impeach  the  patriotism  and 
loyalty  of  those,  who,  in  a  mode  sanctioned  by  the  funda- 


252         REVIEW  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAR. 

mental  laws  of  the  Empire,  opposed  the  measures  of  his 
Government. 

The  system  of  denunciation  commenced  in  the  Message, 
was  zealously  and  rudely  pursued  by  the  official  journal. 
The  following  article  appeared  in  the  Washington  Union, 
soon  after  the  date  of  the  Message. 

"  A  WAR-REGISTER.  TIMELY  PROPOSITION. — It  has  been 
suggested,  that  the  cause  of  the  country  may  be  promoted 
by  the  opening  of  a  war-register  in  every  city,  town,  and 
village,  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  an  authentic  record 
of  the  TORYISM  which  may  be  displayed  by  individuals, 
during  the  continuance  of  the  present  war.  In  this 
register,  it  is  proposed  to  record  the  names  of  such  per 
sons  as  make  themselves  zealous  in  pleading  the  cause  of 
the  enemy,  and  oppose  the  war  into  which  the  people  and 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  have  been  forced  by 
Mexican  aggression,  insult,  and  robbery.  Besides  the 
names  of  the  individuals  who  pronounce  against  the  justice 
of  our  cause,  such  sentiments  as  are  particularly  odious, 
should  be  placed  on  the  register.  Where  an  individual 
expresses  sympathy  for  the  enemy,  or  wishes  the  death 
of  the  President,  or  the  downfall  of  the  National  Admin 
istration  as  a  punishment  for  having  engaged  in  the  war, 
the  sentiments  of  the  TORY  should  be  registered  in  his 
own  language  as  nearly  as  possible.  All  statements 
intended  for  entry  on  the  record,  should  be  verified  by  the 
name  of  the  witness  or  contributor." 

The  wickedness  of  this  article,  is  not  concealed  by  the 
absurdity  of  its  pretended  proposition.  Its  evident 
design  was  to  intimidate  the  opponents  of  the  war,  by 
exciting  against  them  demonstrations  of  popular  violence. 
It  is  a  call  from  the  Government  organ  upon  the  dema 
gogues  of  the  day,  to  stifle  by  brute  force,  all  open 
denunciation  of  the  war.  Confiding  in  the  countenance 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  253 

and  patronage  of  the  executive  and  his  partisans,  the 
editor  of  this  paper  assumed  a  dictatorship  over  the  pro 
ceedings  of  Congress,  rebuking  either  House  with  vulgar 
insolence  whenever  it  declined  an  immediate  compliance 
with  the  wishes  of  the  President.  Such  members  as 
voted  against  granting  further  supplies,  were  stigmatized 
as  Mexican  Whigs.  At  last,  a  vote  of  the  Senate  dis 
pleasing  to  the  Administration,  was  announced  as 
"  ANOTHER  MEXICAN  VICTORY."  Happily  the  purpose 
intended  was  not  effected.  Indignation,  and  not  intimida 
tion,  was  the  result ;  and  the  President's  editor  was,  by  a 
formal  resolution,  "  for  having  uttered  a  public  libel  on 
the  Senate,"  excluded  from  the  privilege  of  admission  to 
the  floor  of  the  Senate,  a  courtesy  that  had  hitherto  been 
shown  him.  The  course  pursued  by  this  journal  merits 
attention  only  from  its  being  the  acknowledged  organ  of 
the  executive,  and  from  its  obvious  accordance  with  the 
spirit  and  design  of  Mr.  Folk's  official  denunciation  of  the 
opponents  to  the  war.  Many  of  the  officers  of  the  army, 
following  the  hints  given  by  the  President  and  his  organ, 
professed  to  be  exceedingly  scandalized  by  the  objections 
made  to  the  war.  General  Twiggs,  in  particular,  was  so 
regardless  of  decency  as  to  give,  at  a  public  dinner  in 
Mexico,  the  toast,  "  Honor  to  the  citizen-soldier  who  steps 
forward  to  battle  for  his  country.  Shame  to  the  KNAVES 
at  home,  who  give  aid  and  comfort  to  our  enemies."  A 
Colonel  Wynkoop,  wrote  from  Mexico  :  "  We  here  can  see 
no  difference  between  the  men,  who,  in  1776,  succored  the 
British,  and  those,  who,  in  1847  give  arguments  and  sym 
pathy  to  the  Mexicans."  Another  Colonel  of  the  name 
of  Morgan,  declared  in  a  public  speech :  "  All  who  will 
advocate  the  withholding  of  supplies,  or  withdrawing  our 
armies,  disguise  their  sentiments  however  they  may,  under 
22 


254  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

whatever    artful    plea    they    choose,  are    TRAITORS    AT 

HEART."* 

These  various  attempts  to  suppress  the  freedom  of 
debate  and  discussion,  only  reiterate  the  lesson  univer 
sally  taught  by  history,  that  war,  in  its  spirit  is  hostile  to 
civil  liberty.  Had  the  war  been  a  popular  one,  had  the 
masses  been  maddened  by  defeat,  had  they  been  thirsting 
for  the  blood  of  their  enemies  ;  the  efforts  of  the  Presi 
dent  and  his  partisans  to  direct  their  fury  upon  a  feeble 
minority  whom  they  were  taught  to  regard  as  traitors, 
would  not  have  been  fruitless,  and  the  American,  like  the 
French  Republic,  would  have  had  her  annals  disgraced  by 
a  Reign  of  Terror. 

But  happily  the  assertion  of  the  President,  that  the 
war  was  regarded  as  unjust  and  unnecessary,  and  as  one 
of  aggression  "  by  but  few"  w^as  of  equal  veracity  with 
many  other  of  his  declarations.  This  assertion  was  made 
in  his  Message  of  December,  1846,  at  which  time  his 
party  had  a  very  large  majority  in  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives.  The  next  December,  a  new  House  of  Repre 
sentatives,  elected  in  the  interim,  assembled  ;  and  this 
new  House,  "  fresh  from  the  people,"  Resolved  :  "  that 
the  Avar  was  unnecessarily  and  unconstitutionally  begun 
by  the  President  of  the  United  States." 

But  although  we  have  successfully  maintained  the 
liberty  of  speech  and  of  the  press,  the  sanction  given  by 
the  war  to  executive  usurpations  ;  and  the  thirst  for  con 
quest  and  glory,  which  it  has  stimulated,  are  destined  to 
exert  a  durable  and  disastrous  influence  on  the  Republic. 
There  are  also  other  political  evils  resulting  from  the  war, 
which  merit  consideration.  The  nation,  which  at  the 
commencement  of  hostilities  was  free  from  debt,  is  now 
burthened  with  a  load  of  pecuniary  obligations.  To 

*  "We  quote  these  military  ebullitions,  from  the  Newspapers 
of  the  day. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  255 

relieve  ourselves  of  this  load,  it  will  be  necessary  for 
many  years,  to  impose  heavy  duties  upon  imports ;  and 
these  duties  are  in  fact,  taxes  upon  the  necessaries  and 
comforts  of  life  ;  not  the  less  real  for  being  indirect  and 
unperceived  by  the  consumers.  Our  national  vanity  is 
flattered  by  the  fact,  that  the  certificates  of  our  debt  are 
now  selling  in  Europe.  It  seems  not  to  be  recollected 
that  our  debt  is  thus  transferred  to  foreigners,  who,  instead 
of  our  own  citizens,  are  hereafter  to  receive  from  the 
national  treasury,  both  principle  and  interest.  Great 
Britain  could  not  support,  for  a  single  year,  the  payment 
even  of  the  interest  of  her  debt,  did  it  .not  find  its  way 
into  the  pockets  of  her  own  subjects,  whence  it  is  again 
returned  in  taxes  to  the  Government.  Just  in  proportion 
as  our  debt  is  due  abroad,  the  more  onerous  is  it  to 
ourselves. 

When  we  reflect  on  the  vast  extent  given  to  our 
Empire  by  the  recent  conquests — the  peculiar  character 
of  the  conquered  people  who  are  to  be  invested  with  the 
privileges  of  American  citizens — the  bitter  sectional  feel 
ings  already  engendered  by  the  question  respecting  the 
extension  of  slavery  over  these  regions — the  diversity  of 
interests  that  will  exist  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
States,  and  the  perpetual  struggle  for  mastery  which  must 
prevail  between  a  powerful  yeomanry,  depending  on  their 
own  industry,  and  a  landed  aristocracy  supported  by  some 
millions  of  serfs,  surely  we  have  cause  to  apprehend 
much  irritation,  civil  dissensions,  and  the  ultimate  disruption 
of  the  Union. 

We  presume  not  to  lift  the  veil  that  conceals  the  future  ; 
but  if  the  declaration,  that  "  Wherewithal  a  man  sinneth, 
by  the  same  also  shall  he  be  punished,"  be  applicable  to 
nations  as  well  as  to  individuals,  we  cannot  doubt  that  the 
conquests  which  now  swell  our  national  pride  will  prove 
scourges  to  humble  i(. 


256  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

MORAL  EVILS  OF  THE  WAR. 

THE  malignant  as  well  as  the  benevolent  affections  of  our 
nature  are  strengthened  by  exercise.  A  volunteer,  de 
scribing  in  a  letter  his  sensations  on  first  going  into  battle, 
mentions  that  on  discharging  his  musket,  he  was  harassed 
with  the  fear  that  he  might  possibly  kill  somebody  ;  but 
that  after  a  while  he  became  as  eager  as  others  in  the 
work  of  death. 

From  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  the  public  was 
almost  daily  served  by  the  newspapers  with  details  of 
battles,  and  bombardments,  and  mangled  corpses,  and  all 
the  varieties  of  human  suffering  caused  by  war : 

"  Boys  and  girls, 

And  women,  that  would  groan  to  see  a  child 
Pull  off  an  insect's  leg,  all  read  of  Avar — 
The  best  amusement  of  our  morning  meal : 
And  all  are  learned,  fluent,  absolute, 
And  technical,  in  victories  and  defeats, 
And  all  the  dainty  terms  for  fratricide ; 
Terms  which  we  trundle  smoothly  o'er  our  tongues, 
Like  mere  abstractions — empty  sounds,  to  which 
We  give  no  feeling  and  attach  no  form. 
As  if  the  soldier  died  without  a  wound — 
As  if  the  fibres  of  this  godlike  frame 
Were  gored  without  a  pang — as  if  the  wretch 
Who  fell  in  battle,  doing  bloody  deeds, 
Pass'd  off  to  Heaven,  translated,  and  not  killed — 
As  though  he  had  no  wife  to  pine  for  him, 
No  God  to  judge." 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  257 

This  constant  familiarity  with  human  suffering,  instead  of 
awakening  sympathy,  has  roused  into  action  the  vilest 
passions  of  our  nature.  We  have  been  taught  to  ring  our 
bells,  and  illuminate  our  windows,  and  let  off  fireworks,  as 
manifestations  of  our  joy,  when  we  have  heard  of  great 
ruin,  and  devastation,  and  misery,  and  death,  inflicted  by 
our  troops  upon  a  people  who  never  injured  us,  who 
never  fired  a  shot  on  our  soil,  and  who  were  utterly  in 
capable  of  acting  on  the  offensive  against  us.*  Nor  was 
our  exultation  at  the  flow  of  Mexican  blood  repressed  by 
the  recollection  that  American  blood  flowed  with  it.  Our 
neighbors,  and  friends,  and  countrymen,  by  thousands, 
fell  in  battle,  or  wasted  in  the  noisome  hospital — but  their 
sufferings  excited  almost  as  little  thought  and  compassion 
as  those  of  the  Mexicans.  The  nation  had  gained  glory, 

*  Says  an  able  writer  :  "  American  gentlemen,  husbands  and 
fathers,  send  an  army  to  collect  a  debt  from  some  Mexican  chief 
tains  by  bombarding  Vera  Cruz.  By  day  and  by  night  the 
awful  storm  of  bomb-shells  is  rained  down  upon  the  devoted 
city.  Christian  gentlemen  guide  these  guns,  and  kindle  these 
fires  of  hell.  Mothers  and  daughters  fly  shrieking  through  the 
streets,  and  their  mangled  limbs  are  buried  beneath  the  ruins 
of  their  dwellings.  These  shells  explode  in  infant  nurseries, 
by  the  bedside  of  languishing  disease,  in  parlors  of  refinement 
and  piety.  Ladies  have  limb  torn  from  limb  by  the  balls  which 
American  gentlemen  fire.  A  large  party  of  ladies,  in  the  terror 
of  that  awi'ul  bombardment,  fly  to  the  cellar  of  one  of  the  most 
costly  stone  mansions,  hoping  there  to  find  refuge  from  these 
engines  of  destruction  which  have  demolished  many  of  their 
dwellings,  and  by  a  bloody  death  bereaved  them  of  many  of  their 
dearest  friends.  The  thunders  of  the  bombardment,  the  crash 
of  the  explosions  of  bomb-shells,  the  shrieks  of  the  dying,  pierce 
the  darkness  of  the  cellar,  and  excite  to  a  frenzy  of  terror  the 
trembling  females  there.  A  shell  falls  upon  the  roof  of  the 
house,  descends  into  the  cellar,  and  explodes  ;  and  the  limbs  of 
these  mothers  and  maidens,  mangled  and  gory,  are  driven  into 
the  walls.  And  this  is  honorable  warfare — this  is  Christian  war 
fare — and  the  result  of  such  scenes  is  the  subject  for  civic  re 
joicing,  bonfires,  and  illuminations  !  And  respectable  men,  hu 
mane  men,  men  who  sit  at  the  table  of  Jesus  Christ  as  his  dis 
ciples,  who  publish  papers  to  guide  the  world  to  Christian  feel 
ings  and  practices,  consi'der  this  a  very  suitable  way  of  collect 
ing  debts." 

22* 


258  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

and  would  gain  land  ;  and  politicians  seemed  anxious  to 
gain  populaiity  by  rivalling  each  other  in  exulting  shouts. 
Alas,  in  very  many  instances  those  shouts  proceeded 
from  the  same  lips  which  denounced  the  war  as  uncon 
stitutional,  unjust,  and  a  national  crime  ! 

The  struo-u-les  between  the   convictions   of  conscience 

OO 

and  the  aspirations  for  popular  favor,  led  others  besides 
the  Whio-s  into  strange  and  almost  ludicrous  contradic 
tions. 

We  have  heard  much  of  late  years,  from  a  certain  class 
of  philanthropists,  of  the  inviolability  of  human  life ;  and 
societies  have  been  organized  for  the  abolition  of  capital 
punishment.  Life  was  a  boon  granted  by  the  Deity, 
which  could  rightfully  be  taken  only  by  the  Giver.  All 
this  was  very  well,  as  applied  to  American  felons ;  but  to 
extend  it  to  Mexican  men,  women,  and  children,  guiltless 
of  crime,  was,  of  course,  to  give  "  aid  and  comfort "  to 
the  enemy.  Hence  was  seen,  in  one  of  our  largest  cities, 
the  singular  spectacle  of  a  president  of  an  anti-capital- 
punishment  society  presiding  over  a  large  and  ferocious 
war  meeting.  The  president  of  another  similar  society,  a 
prominent  politician,  accepted  and  discharged  the  very 
consistent  duty  of  presenting  a  complimentary  sword  to  a 
popular  general. 

That  portion  of  the  public  press  which  supported  the 
war  has,  in  many  instances,  been  instrumental  in  diffusing 
throughout  the  community  most  impious  and  ferocious 
sentiments.  It  was,  of  course,  the  policy  of  the  dominant 
party  to  excite  the  passions  of  the  people  against  Mexico, 
to  encourage  admiration  for  military  prowess,  and  to  re 
press  all  compassion  for  those  we  were  slaughtering  and 
plundering.  Hence,  many  of  the  war  journals  apparently 
labored  to  pervert  the  moral  sense  of  the  community,  and 
to  insult  and  ridicule  those  religious  feelings  which  were 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  259 

naturally  shocked  by  the  character  and  events  of  the 
war. 

A  few  quotations  will  illustrate  these  remarks.  Mr. 
Polk,  as  we  have  seen,  while  devastating  Mexico,  was  at 
all  times  sighing  for  peace.  His  presses  teemed  with  the 
most  brutal  plans  for  "  conquering  peace." 

"  We  must  now,"  said  one  of  them,  "  destroy  the  city 
of  Mexico,  level  it  with  the  earth  on  which  it  stands,  serve 
Puebla,  Perote,  Jalapa,  Saltillo,  and  Monterey  in  the 
same  way,  and  then  increase  our  demands  till  we  insist  on 
the  perpetual  possession  of  the  Castle  of  Juan  d'Ulua,  as 
a  key  to  the  commerce  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  This 
course  would  save  hundreds  of  lives.  Occupy  all  the 
seaports  on  the  Gulf  and  the  Pacific  for  revenue  for  the 
payment  of  the  expenses  of  the  war.  Such  a  course 
would  compel  the  Mexicans  to  sue  for  peace." 

Said  another :  "  Unless  we  distress  the  Mexicans,  carry 
destruction  and  loss  of  life  to  every  fireside,  and  make 
them  feel  a  rod  of  iron,  they  will  not  respect  us."  Mr. 
Polk's  own  organ,  the  official  Union,  declared :  "Our 
work  of  subjugation  and  conquest  must  go  on  rapidly 
and  with  augmented  force,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  at  the 
expense  of  Mexico  herself.  Henceforth,  we  must  seek 
PEACE,  and  compel  it  by  inflicting  on  our  enemies  all  the 
evils  of  war." 

These  barbarous  sentiments,  which  were  rife  through 
the  land,  were  aggravated  in  atrocity  by  the  lying  pretext 
on  which  they  were  urged.  We,  an  invading  foe,  were 
to  murder  by  wholesale,  and  level  cities  to  the  earth,  to 
procure  a  peace  that  was  ours  the  moment  we  ceased  to 
assail  the  Mexicans.  Did  we  choose  to  recal  our  armies, 
we  well  knew  our  enemy  had  no  means  of  revenging  the 
wrong  we  had  done  her.  Mexico  was  fighting  solely  in 
self-defence,  and  the  only  peace  we  desired,  the  only 


260  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

peace  we  were  ready  to  conquer,  was  the  cession  of  the 
territory  for  which  we  had  commenced  the  war. 

Not  only  were  the  general  precepts  of  justice  and 
humanity  thus  set  at  defiance,  but  pains  seemed  to  be 
taken  to  attract  public  admiration  for  such  acts  of  ferocity 
and  impiety  as  were  calculated  to  nourish  the  war  spirit. 
A  silly  child  of  eleven  years  was  said  to  have  written  a 
letter  to  one  of  the  Generals,  asking  to  be  employed 
against  the  Mexicans,  and  boasting  that  he  had  money 
enough  to  buy  a  pair  of  pistols  and  a  dagger  ;  and  the 
epistle  of  this  little  boy  was  paraded  in  the  papers,  headed 

"  THE    RIGHT    KIND    OF    SPIRIT."          Anecdotes    of     officers, 

which,  if  true,  could  not  fail  to  disgust  all  who  reverence 
the  awful  realities  of  Christianity,  have  been  loudly 
trumpeted  as  instances  of  American  patriotism  and  hero 
ism.  Thus  we  have  had  an  account  of  a  captain  mortally 
wounded,  and  just  expiring.  "  The  whole  of  his  lower 
jaw,  with  a  part  of  his  tongue  and  palate,  is  shot  away  by 
a  grape  shot ;  he  communicated  his  thoughts  by  writing 
on  a  slate.  He  does  not  desire  to  live.  He  concluded 
an  answer  to  some  inquiries  concerning  the  battle  of  the 
9th,  by  writing  'we  gave  the  Mexicans  hell!''  These 
words  so  peculiarly  horrible,  as  uttered  by  a  dying  man, 
became  with  a  certain  class  a  slang  phrase,  and  to  give 
the  Mexicans  hell,  seemed  to  be  the  glorious  privilege,  as 
well  as  duty,  of  American  Christians.  A  Mississippi 
paper  adopted  it,  with  a  blasphemous  addition  : — "  By 
some  mistake  a  piece  of  poetry  headed  '  Song  of  the 
Sword,'*  appears  on  our  first  page.  It  seems  that  in  our 
absence,  when,  it  may  be,  the  boys  were  out  of  copy,  this 
song  was  selected  to  fill  up  a  place.  We  never  saw  it 
till  it  was  too  late  to  make  the  correction.  It  does  not 

*  An  English  poem  on  war,  having  no  allusion  to  this 
country. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  261 

express  our  sentiments.  It  is  Whiggish,  and  very  bad 
poetry  withal.  We  go  for  giving  the  Mexicans  HELL, 
whether  Christ  be  our  guide  or  not." 

Under  the  caption,  "  NOBLE  EXPLOIT,"  we  are  told  of  a 
soldier  mortally  wounded,  remonstrating  against  being 
carried  off  the  field,  exclaiming,  "  he  was  a  dead  man,  and 
damned  if  he  did  not  want  to  kill  some  of  them." 

Some  comment  having  been  excited  by  certain  profane 
expressions,  untruly  we  hope,  alleged  to  have  escaped 
from  General  Taylor,  in  the  heat  of  battle,  a  New  Or 
leans  paper  replied  :  "  It  is  a  paltry  affectation  in  any  one 
who  knows  the  General,  to  pretend  to  be  shocked  at 
what  was  related  of  him  at  Buena  Vista.  It  is  a  mere 
sham  for  the  benefit  of  puritanical  souls,  who  do  their 
damning  after  a  more  economical  formulary,  than  is 
generally  used  in  the  field.  The  words  came  out  of 
General  Taylor's  mouth,  and  were  no  doubt  as  acceptable 
to  heaven  as  the  roaring  of  the  cannon  which  belched 
forth  death,  and  strewed  the  earth  with  slaughter." 

The  few  instances  we  have  cited  (and  they  might  be 
multiplied  indefinitely),  indicate  the  baneful  influences  to 
which  public  opinion  has  been  exposed,  through  the 
efforts  to  create  and  maintain  a  war  spirit  in  the  com 
munity. 

The  Church  has,  in  some  few  cases,  united  in  this  un 
holy  work,  of  corrupting  public  opinion.  The  pulpit  has 
occasionally  uttered  its  benedictions  on  the  Mexican  in 
vasion  ;  and  ministers  of  C/hrist,  by  joining  in  military 
funeral  pageants,  have  given  the  sanction  of  the  religion 
they  professed,  to  the  cause  in  which  the  deceased  perish 
ed.  On  some  of  these  occasions  sermons  have  been  de 
livered,  breathing  little  of  the  spirit  of  the  Prince  of  Peace. 
Men  who  had  lost  their  lives  in  the  act  of  voluntarily 
carrying  fire  and  sword  into  a  foreign  country,  have  been 


262  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

held  forth  to  the  admiration  of  their  countrymen,  as 
having  fallen  in  the  discharge  of  duly.  But  these  reve 
rend  patriots  omitted  to  instruct  their  audience,  that  the 
Mexicans  who  fell  in  the  act  of  defending  their  wives  and 
children,  were  no  less  obedient  to  the  commands  of  duty 
than  the  American  volunteer ;  nor  did  they  avail  them 
selves  of  the  opportunity  to  draw  the  obvious  inference 
that,  as  both  Americans  and  Mexicans  were  but  discharg 
ing  their  duty  in  killing  each  other ;  mutual  slaughter  is 
an  acceptable  sacrifice  to  the  common  Father  of  all,  and 
in  accordance  with  the  precepts  of  the  Divine  Redeemer. 
Some  of  the  clergy  very  consistently  reduced  to  practice 
the  doctrines  they  taught.  Thus  we  had  the  announce 
ment  in  a  St.  Louis  paper,  of  "  A  BAPTIST  PREACHER 
KILLED  IN  BATTLE,"  with  an  eulogy  on  his  patriotism.  The 
New  Orleans  Picayune  thus  noticed  another  officer  of  the 
Church  militant : — "  A  company  of  about  ninety  men 
arrived  here  yesterday  from  the  parishes,  under  the  com 
mand  of  the  Rev.  Richard  A.  Stewart,  as  captain.  Cap 
tain  Stewart  is  a  worthy  clergyman,  of  the  Methodist 
persuasion,  who  allows  nothing  to  prevent  his  discharge  ^ 
of  that  duty  every  citizen  owes  his  country  in  the  hour  of 
peril  ! "  The  Reverend  Captain,  it  seems,  so  exerted 
himself  in  the  hour  of  his  country's  peril,  as  to  acquire  at 
least  that  honor  which  cometh  from  man ;  for  on  his. 
return  from  the  wars,  we  again  find  him  noticed  in  the 
Picayune  of  February,  1848.  In  an  account  of  a  Taylor 
meeting  in  New  Orleans,  it  is  said,  "  Mr.  Stewart,  of  Iber- 
ville  submitted  a  resolution,  nominating  General  Zachary 
Taylor  as  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency  of  the  United 
States.  A  member  of  the  Convention  rose  to  second  the 
resolution,  and  said,  'that  as  the  mover  might  not  be 
known  to  all  the  Convention,  he  would  announce  him  to 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  263 

them  as  the  Reverend  Colonel  Stewart,  of  Iberville,  the 
fiyhting  clergyman  /'  (immense  applause.)  " 

It  is  however  due  to  justice  to  acknowledge,  and  to  ac 
knowledge  with  gratitude,  that  the  sacred  office  has  rarely 
been  desecrated  by  a  vindication  of  the  Mexican  war  ;  and 
that  in  numerous  instances  ecclesiastical  bodies  and  indi 
vidual  pastors  have,  with  Christian  boldness  and  fidelity, 
exposed  and  denounced  its  wickedness.  Nor  was  oppo 
sition  to  the  war  confined  to  the  clerical  profession.  The 
whole  religious  community,  especially  at  the  North,  were, 
with  few  exceptions,  unanimous  in  reprobating  it ;  and 
indeed,  had  it  not  been  for  the  acts  and  efforts  of  poli 
ticians,  of  men  striving  to  keep  the  offices  they  had,  and 
others  striving  to  gain  the  offices  they  wanted,  the  great 
mass  of  the  people  would  have  regarded  the  war  with 
abhorrence. 

The  moral  sense  of  the  nation  was,  moreover,  impaired 
by  the  sentiment  industriously  cultivated  by  the  politicians 
of  both  parties — "  Our  country,  right  or  wrong."  This 
sentiment  was  of  course  intended  to  vindicate  each  party, 
for  the  support  it  gave  to  the  war,  by  insinuating  that 
devotion  to  country  is  more  imperative  than  moral  obli 
gation. 

The  war  has  also  had  a  most  unhappy  influence  in 
familiarizing  the  public  ear  to  falsehood,  and  under  cir 
cumstances  tending  to  divest  the  sin  of  much  of  its  vile- 
ness.  Falsehood  was  dignified,  both  by  the  magnitude 
and  importance  of  the  objects  it  was  intended  to  promote, 
and  by  the  elevated  position  of  those  who  condescended 
to  use  it  as  an  instrument. 

It  was  one  of  the  lamentations  of  the  Prophet,  that 
"  truth  has  fallen  in  the  streets ;"  and  in  our  days,  the 
Mexican  war  has  caused  her  to  be  trampled  in  the  dust, 
not  only  in  the  streets  of  Washington,  but  in  every  high- 


264  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

way  throughout  the  republic.  The  Message  of  Mr.  Polk 
(Dec.  1846),  in  vindication  of  the  war,  has  been  termed 
"a  pyramid  of  mendacity".  It  would  occupy  too  much 
space  to  examine  in  detail  the  various  materials  of  this 
vast  structure,  we  will  merely  give  a  few  specimens  which 
the  attentive  reader  of  the  preceding  pages  will  be  quali 
fied  to  analyze  for  himself. 

"  The  existing  war  with  Mexico  was  neither  desired  nor 
provoked  by  the  United  States  ;  on  the  contrary,  all  hon 
orable  means  were  resorted  to  to  avert  it.  After  years  of 
endurance  of  aggravated  wrongs  on  our  part,  Mexico,  in 
violation  of  solemn  treaty  stipulations  commenced  hostili 
ties,  and  thus  by  her  own  act  forced  the  war  upon  us.  Long 
before  the  advance  of  our  army  to  the  left  bank  of  the 
Rio  Grande,  we  had  ample  cause  of  war  against  Mexico ; 
and,  had  the  United  States  resorted  to  this  extremity,  we 
might  have  appealed  to  the  whole  civilized  world  for  the 
justice  of  our  cause."  "The  wrongs  which  we  have  suf 
fered  from  Mexico  almost  ever  since  she  became  an  indepen 
dent  power,  and  the  patient  endurance  with  which  we  have 
borne  them,  are  without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  modern 
civilized  nations."  "  The  annexation  of  Texas  to  the 
United  States  constituted  no  just  cause  of  offence  to 
Mexico."  "Whilst  occupying  his  (General  Taylor's) 
position  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Rio  Grande  within  the 
limits  of  Texas,  then  recently  admitted  as  one  of  the  States 
of  our  Union,  the  Commanding- General  of  the  Mexican 
forces,  who,  in  pursuance  of  the  orders  of  his  Government, 
had  collected  a  large  army  on  the  opposite  shore  of  the 
Rio  Grande,  crossed  the  river,  invaded  our  territory,  and 
commenced  hostilities  by  attacking  our  forces."  "  Every 
honorable  effort  has  been  used  by  me  to  avoid  the  war 
that  followed  ;  but  all  have  proved  vain.  All  our  attempts 
to  preserve  peace  have  been  met  by  insult  and  resistance 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  265 

on  the  part  of  Mexico."  "  This  war  has  not  been  waged 
with  a  view  to  conquest,"  <fcc.,  &c. 

With  a  reckless  consistency  rarely  paralleled,  he  an 
nounced  to  Congress  on  the  6th  of  July,  1848,  that  "  the 
war  in  which  our  country  was  RELUCTANTLY  involved  in 
the  NECESSARY  vindication  of  the  national  rights  and  honor, 
has  been  terminated." 

The  fictions  of  Mr.  Polk  were  reiterated  by  Jbis  party 
with  all  the  gravity  of  sincere  belief.  The  Whigs  in  Con 
gress,  with  a  few  honorable  exceptions,  pursued  a  different 
policy.  They  fearlessly  confessed  that  the  war  for 
which  they  voted  was  unnecessary  and  unjust,  a  war  of 
aggression  and  not  of  defence ;  and  that  the  assertion  in 
behalf  of  which  they  enrolled  their  names  in  an  enduring 
record,  that  the  war  existed  "  by  the  act  of  Mexico"  was 
FALSE.  To  excuse  their  conduct,  they  also  had  their  fiction. 
They  voted  to  raise  fifty  thousand  men,  for  the  purpose  of 
rescuing  General  Taylor  and  his  little  army  from  capture 
by  the  Mexicans  ! 

The  falsehoods  respecting  the  Mexican  war,  coined  in 
Washington,  became  a  circulating  medium  throughout  the 
country.  They  were  found  in  almost  every  official  de 
spatch  ;  they  were  uttered  through  the  press ;  they  were 
passed  as  genuine  by  Governors  in  their  messages,  and  by 
Legislatures  in  their  resolves.  Who  shall  estimate  the 
injury  done  to  the  morality  of  the  nation  by  this  wide 
spread  contempt  for  truth  ?  The  example  of  men  con 
spicuous  for  talents,  influence,  and  station,  must  be  ope 
rative  for  good  or  for  evil.  "  When  the  righteous  are  in 
authority  the  people  rejoice ;  but  when  the  wicked  bear 
rule,  the  people  mourn."  It  has  been  well  said  that  truth 
and  the  confidence  it  inspires,  is  the  basis  of  human  society, 
and  that  error  is  the  source  of  every  iniquity.  How  de 
plorable,  then,  that  the  love  of  truth  and  abhorrence  of 
23 


266  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

falsehood  should  be  weakened  by  the  authority  and  exam 
ple  of  those  in  high  places !  But  with  this  subject  are 
connected  considerations  more  momentous  than  any  that 
belong  to  this  transitory  scene  ; — we  are  all  soon  to  enter 
upon  an  endless  existence  in  a  world  in  which  sorrow  and 
falsehood  are  alike  unknown,  or  in  a  place  from  which  joy 
and  truth  are  for  ever  banished. 

Surely,  among  the  awful  responsibilities  resting  upon 
the  authors  and  supporters  of  the  Mexican  war,  will  be 
included  the  corruption  of  public  opinion  and  the  depra 
vation  of  public  morals  to  which  it  has  given  birth. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  267 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

ACQUISITION    OF    TERRITORY. 

HAVING  taken  a  retrospect  of  the  pecuniary,  political, 
and  moral  sacrifices  made  by  the  American  people,  in  the 
war  they  have  waged  against  Mexico,  let  us  next  inquire 
what  equivalents  they  have  received.  It  is  difficult  to  ima 
gine  any  which  are  not  included  in  the  TERRITORY  and  the 
GLORY  they  have  acquired.  The  value  of  these  acquisi 
tions,  we  proceed  to  examine. 

It  appears  from  a  document  laid  before  Congress  from 
the  War  Department  and  Land  Office,  that  the  alleged 
limits  of  Texas  embrace  325,520  square  miles ;  and 
those  of  New  Mexico  and  California,  as  ceded  by  treaty, 
526,078  more,  making  a  grand  total  of  851,590  square 
miles.  It  is  only  by  comparison  that  we  can  form  an 
adequate  idea  of  the  extent  of  this  prodigious  area.  The 
state  of  New  York  contains  less  than  50,000  square 
miles ;  of  course  the  addition  made  to  our  possessions  is 
equal  to  seventeen  times  the  extent  of  the  Empire  State. 
It  is  four  times  the  size  of  France,  and  five  times  that  of 
Spain.* 

Texas,  it  is  true,  was  acquired  by  other  means  than  open 
war.  But  no  less  than  125,520  square  miles,  included  with 
in  her  assumed  boundaries,  rightfully  belonged  to  Mexico, 
and  our  title  to  them  is  founded,  not  on  her  claim,  but  on 
conquest,  confirmed  by  the  treaty  of  peace.  Adding  this 
territory  to  that  of  New  Mexico  and  California,  we  have 

*  See  American  Almanac  for  1842,  p.  270. 


'268  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

051,591  square  miles,  about  one  half  of  all  that  was  left 
to  Mexico,  after  the  revolt  of  Texas,  as  the  spoils  of  war. 
Such  was  "  the  magnanimous  forbearance  exhibited  to 
wards  Mexico,"  of  which  Mr.  Polk  thought  proper  to 
boast  in  his  Message  to  the  Senate  communicating  the 
treaty  which  ceded  to  us  this  vast  plunder.  / 

How  far  this  forbearance  was  magnanimous  depends, 
of  course,  on  the  motives  which  prompted  it.  We  have 
already  seen  that  the  insurgents  of  Texas,  after  some  hesi 
tation,  forbore  to  include  California  within  its  boundaries. 
The  reason  assigned  for  this  forbearance  had  no  reference 
to  right  and  justice  ;  it  was  simply,  that  they  had  already 
taken  as  much  as  they  wanted,  and  that  more  at  present 
would  be  inconvenient.  It  is  difficult  to  see  wherein  our 
forbearance  was  more  magnanimous  than  that  of  our 
Texan  brethren.  We  have  taken  precisely  what  we  went 
to  war  to  acquire  y  and  a  territory  from  which  thirteen 
large  slave  States  6ould  be  carved,  was  sufficient  to  give 
the  slave  power  an  entire  control  of  the  Federal  Govern 
ment.  Mexico,  moreover,  is  so  enfeebled  and  despoiled, 
that  all  that  is  left  may  be  absorbed  by  the  mighty  Re- , 
public,  at  any  moment  it  may  be  deemed  expedient  to 
take  possession. 

But  as  Mexico  was  prostrated,  and  we  might  have  an 
nexed  the  whole  Republic  to  our  territory,  was  it  not 
magnanimous  to  pay  her  for  what  we  did  take  ?  It  is 
true  Mexico  was  prostrate,  but  she  was  not  submissive. 
She  could  not  resist  our  arms,  but  she  could  not  be  occu 
pied  and  governed  as  American  territory  except  by  mili 
tary  force.  The  war  was  becoming  unpopular,  and  the  Ad 
ministration  was  tottering,  the  popular  branch  of  the 
National  Legislature  having  declared  against  it.  It  was 
doubtful  whether  Congress  would  furnish  supplies  for 
new  conquests.  But,  in  any  event,  nothing  more  could  be 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  269 

hoped  from  the  farther  prosecution  of  the  war  than  what 
had  been  already  effected — the  military  occupation  of 
Mexico.  Such  an  occupation  for  a  single  year  would  cost 
double  or  treble  the  sum  we  paid  the  Mexicans.  It  was 
obviously  wiser  and  cheaper  to  pay  a  moderate  sum  for  a 
quit- claim  to  the  land  we  wanted,  than  to  continue  an 
expensive  and  dangerous  litigation.  In  the  prosecution 
of  this  litigation,  we  had  already  expended  20,000  lives, 
and  more  than  a  hundred  millions  of  dollars.  Hence,  the 
means  of  acquiring  peaceable  possession  of  the  laud  we 
had  taken  was  a  matter  of  political  and  pecuniary  calcu 
lation,  and  the  result  affords  but  little  proof  of  magnani 
mity.  / 

The  question,  whether  this  territory  is  not  worth  all  it 
has  cost  us,  will  be  variously  answered.  By  those  who 
regard  slavery  as  the  corner-stone  of  our  political  liberties, 
who  behold  in  it  a  divine  institution  illustrative  of  the 
wisdom  and  benevolence  of  the  Deity,  and  an  instrument 
by  which  those  who  possess  it  will  be  enabled  to  govern 
the  whole  Republic,  and  mould  its  policy  for  their  own 
interest,  the  acquisition  of  territory  which  it  was  expected 
would  give  to  slavery  an  indefinite  extension,  an  assured 
perpetuity,  and  an  overwhelming  political  preponderance, 
would  of  course  be  regarded  as  of  priceless  value.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  addition  of  this  territory,  should  it  be 
used  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  acquired,  cannot 
but  be  regarded  as  a  direful  curse  by  all  who  believe 
slavery  to  be  hostile  alike  to  the  will  of  God  and  the 
happiness  of  man.  We  have  had,  in  the  preceding  pages, 
most  abundant  proof  that  this  territory  would  not  have 
been  acquired  except  with  a  view  to  the  extension  of 
slavery  ;  and  it  is  therefore  just  and  fair,  in  estimating  its 
value  compared  with  its  cost,  to  keep  in  mind  for  what 
object  that  cost  was  incurred. 
23* 


270  REVIEW    OP    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

The  future  is  hidden  from  our  view,  but  there  is  little 
reason  for  doubting,  that  not  only  Texas,  but  all  New 
Mexico,  will  for  a  long  period  be  doomed  to  the  ignor 
ance,  degradation,  and  misery,  which  are  inseparable 
from  human  bondage.  Events  unexpected  and  utterly 
unforeseen,  even  at  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  have  since 
occurred,  which  will  probably  exempt  at  least  a  portion 
of  California  from  the  curse  of  slavery.  That  portion, 
however,  it  is  to  be  feared,  will  find  another  and  a  sore 
curse  in  its  recently-discovered  gold.  The  mineral  wealth 
in  which  it  is  said  to  abound  will  be  shared  by  a  promis 
cuous  crowd  from  foreign  lands  as  well  as  our  own  citi 
zens.  The  eager  search  for  gold  in  the  mines  in  which  it 
is  buried  has  ever  been  found  hostile  to  regular  industry, 
and  to  habits  of  virtue  and  frugality.  We  have  cause  to 
apprehend  that  the  population  which  will  be  attracted  to 
this  region  will  not  be  of  a  character  to  strengthen  our 
republican  institutions,  or  in  any  respect  to  elevate  our 
national  character. 

But  whatever  may  be  the  riches  of  these  mines,  and 
whatever  may  be  the  consequences  resulting  from  them,, 
it  should  be  remembered  that  they  formed  no  part  of  the 
motives  which  prompted  the  war — no  part  of  the  estim 
ated  value  of  the  territories  we  have  seized.  The  true 
question  to  be  solved  in  this  discussion  is,  did  we  pay,  in 
blood,  and  treasure,  and  in  the  moral  and  political  evils 
resulting  from  the  war,  a  higher  price  than  the  territories 
were  at  the  time  supposed  to  be  worth  to  us  ? 

We  had  territory  enough,  as  has  already  been  shown, 
for  unborn  generations ;  and,  with  the  exception  of  the 
extension  of  slavery,  no  plausible  motive  could  be  urged 
for  the  acquisition.  No  president  would  have  dared  to 
negotiate  a  treaty  of  cession  at  the  price  of  one  hundred 
millions,  nor  would  any  Senate  have  had  the  hardihood  to 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  271 

ratify  so  preposterous  a  treaty,  had  it  been  made.  Nor 
is  it  conceivable  that  Mexico  would  have  refused  so  mag 
nificent  and  prodigal  an  offer,  had  it  been  made.  We 
have  seen  that  Mr.  Polk  offered  through  Slidell  $25,000,- 
000  for  the  very  territory  for  which  the  country  has  paid 
at  least  five  times  that  amount  in  money,  in  addition  to 
blood,  misery,  and  crime. 

X^Che  Port  of  Saint  Francisco  was  the  only  portion  of 
the  acquired  territory  which  we  needed,  as  being  conven 
ient  to  our  commerce  in  the  Pacific  ;  and  that  might 
doubtless  have  been  acquired  by  friendly  negotiation  at  a 
moderate  price  ;  or  a  right  of  deposit  secured  by  treaty, 
without  cosL 


REVIEW    OF    T1IK    MKXICAN    WAR 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

GLORY. 

HE  whose  wisdom  and  benevolence  are  alike  infinite,  has 
taught  us  not  to  seek  that  glory  which  cometh  from  man, 
and  has  assured  us,  that  "  that  which  is  highly  esteemed 
among  men,  is  an  abomination  in  the  sight  of  God."  If 
we  believe  the  record  which  God  has  given  of  himself, 
\ve  must  be  constrained  to  admit  that,  of  all  the  objects 
of  human  ambition  and  of  human  admiration,  none  can  be 
more  abominable  in  his  sight  than  MILITARY  GLORY.  Such 
glory  is  founded  on  bravery,  skill,  and  success,  in  causing 
the  misery  and  death  of  our  fellow-men.  It  is  wholly 
independent  of  the  moral  character  of  the  cause  in  which 
it  is  acquired.  The  soldier  is  by  general  consent  absolved 
from  all  responsibility  for  the  cruelty,  injustice,  and  wick 
edness  of  his  employers.  Whether  he  fights  for  liberty 
or  slavery — to  defend  his  own  country  or  to  plunder  an 
other — his  glory  rests  upon  his  bravery,  skill,  and  suc 
cess,  in  subduing  and  slaughtering  his  enemies. 

Bravery  is  an  animal  quality,  very  common  among  all 
nations,  and  its  possession  has  never  been  confined  to  the 
•wise  and  good.  Were  honor  to  be  awarded  to  the  bravest, 
the  most  atrocious  villains  would  not  unfrequently  bear 
the  palm.  Indeed,  few  military  exploits  can,  in  a  scornful 
recklessness  of  life,  compare  with  the  assassination  of 
Henry  the  Fourth.  What  General  has,  like  Ravilliac, 
coolly  and  dispassionately  welcomed  an  inevitable,  horri 
ble  and  shameful  death.  More  bravery  is  no  more  en- 


REVIEW    OF    THE   MEXICAN    WAR.  273 

titled  to  praise  than  any  other  animal  quality,  and  its 
exercise  is  often  indicative  of  the  vilest  passions,  and  a 
sottish  indifference  to  a  future  state.  The  bravery  of  the 
soldier  amid  the  excitement  of  the  battle  field,  stimulated 
by  fear  of  shame,  and  the  hope  of  reward,  is  pale  and 
lustreless  compared  with  that  devotion  to  duty  which  tri 
umphs  over  pain,  and  danger,  and  life  itself.  "  I  go 
bound  in  the  spirit  unto  Jerusalem,"  said  the  Apostle, 
"  not  knowing  the  things  that  shall  befall  me  there,  save 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  witnesseth  in  every  city,  saying  that 
bonds  and  afflictions  abide  me.  But  none  of  these  things 
move  me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear  to  myself." 

Military  skill,  of  course,  arises  from  experience  and  in 
struction  combined  with  natural  talent,  and,  even  when 
carried  to  the  highest  possible  perfection,  affords  no  gua 
rantee  for  the  presence  of  a  single  virtue.  Bravery  and 
military  skill,  as  well  as  infamy,  are  associated  with  the 
memory  of  Benedict  Arnold.  But  success  is  essential  to 
military  glory.  The  warrior  is  crowned  only  by  the  hand 
of  victory.  Yet  her  gifts  are  often  dispensed  without 
regard  to  the  bravery  and  skill  of  the  recipient,  and  we 
have  seen  her  permitting  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of 
her  favorites,  after  leading  half  a  million  of  veterans  to 
Russia,  secure  his  personal  safety  by  a  sudden  flight  in 
the  night  season,  and  under  cover  of  a  borrowed  name  ; 
and  we  have  seen  this  same  favorite,  after  wielding  the 
most  potent  sceptre  ever  grasped  by  man,  wearing  out 
his  days  in  an  Island-prison. 

The  American  army,  furnished  with  all  the  appliances 
of  war  which  science,  and  art,  and  wealth  could  supply, 
gained  a  series  of  uninterrupted  victories  over  a  nation 
with  a  small,  feeble,  and  sparse  population,  but  little  re 
moved  from  semi-barbarism,  without  commerce,  without 
arts,  without  money,  and  without  credit.  Now,  the  his- 


274  )u;vii::w   or   THI:   _MI-:.\U.\\    \\AK. 

torical  fact,  that  these  victories  have  been  achieved  by 
the  bravery  and  skill  of  the  American  forces,  constitutes 
the  GLORY  which  is  regarded  by  some,  as  an  ample  com 
pensation  for  all  the  misery  and  wickedness  resulting  from 
the  Avar  !  This  glory  gives  no  food  to  the  hungry,  no 
raiment  to  the  naked,  and  adds  nothing  to  the  wisdom, 
virtue  and  comfort  of  the  American  people.  We  are 
assured,  however,  that  it  will  give  us  peace  and  security 
by  deterring  aggression.  All  history  bears  testimony  to 
the  utter  futility  of  such  an  expectation.  Military  glory 
ever  renders  its  possessor  arrogant  and  intolerant,  and 
others  jealous  and  vindictive.  Powerful  martial  nations 
are  those  which  enjoy  the  least  peace  ;  assailing  others, 
if  not  assailed  themselves. 

Let  us  listen  to  the  peans  of  triumph  as  chanted  on  the 
floor  of  the  United  States  Senate  by  General  Cass:  "  Our 
flag  has  become  a  victorious  standard,  borne  by  marching 
columns  over  the  hills  and  valleys,  and  through  the  cities 
and  towns  and  iields  of  a  powerful  (!)  nation,  in  a  career 
of  success  of  which  few  examples  can  be  found  in  ancient 
or  modern  warfare."  After  giving  the  dates  of  twenty- 
eight  victories,  he  exclaims,  "  If  we  recorded  our  history 
upon  stone,  as  was  done  in  the  primitive  ages  of  the 
world,  we  should  engrave  this  series  of  glorious  deeds 
upon  tables  of  marble.  But  we  shall  do  better  ;  we  shall 
engrave  it  upon  our  hearts,  and  we  shall  commit  it  to  the 
custody  of  the  press,  whose  monuments,  frail  and  feeble 
as  they  appear,  are  more  enduring  than  brass  or  marble, 
tharj  statues  or  pyramids,  or  the  proudest  monuments 
erected  by  human  hands,  Let  modern  philanthropists  talk 
as  they  please,  the  instincts  of  nature  are  truer  than  the 
doctrines  they  preach.  Military  renown  is  one  of  the 
great  elements  of  national  strength,  as  it  is  one  of  the 
proudest  sources  of  gratification  to  every  mar?  who  loves 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  275 

his  country,  and  desires  to  see  her  occupy  a  distinguished 
position  among  the  nations  of  the  earth."* 

It  seems  unfortunate  for  the  honor  and  glory  of  our 
country  that  our  military  operations  are  conducted  on  a 
Lilliputian  scale,  and  our  military  renown  is  so  very  cheaply 
acquired.  The  trophies  gained  in  our  Mexican  war,  even 
if  engraven  on  marble,  would  look  exceedingly  diminutive 
compared  to  some,  which,  however  the  General  may  sup 
pose  to  the  contrary,  are  really  recorded  in  the  history  of 
modern  warfare.  Had  it  been  the  General's  good  fortune 
to  belong  to  "  the  Grand  Army,"  his  patriotic  heart  would 
have  swelled  with  still  prouder  gratification,  while  listen 
ing  at  Austerlitz,  to  the  glowing  applause  of  his  Emperor : 
"  Soldiers !  I  am  content  with  you ;  you  have  covered 
your  eagles  with  immortal  glory.  An  army  of  one  hun 
dred  thousand  men,  commanded  by  the  Emperors  of  Rus 
sia  and  Austria,  have  been,  in  less  than  four  hours,  cut  to 
pieces  and  dispersed — forty  stand  of  colors — the  stand 
ards  of  the  imperial  guard  of  Russia — one  hundred  and 
twenty  pieces  of  cannon,  twenty  Generals,  and  more  than 
thirty  thousand  prisoners,  are  the  results  of  this  day,  for 
ever  celebrated.  Henceforth  you  have  no  longer  any 
rivals  to  fear."  With  what  delight  would  he  have  drank 
in  the  glorious  story,  related  to  the  army  on  entering 
Berlin  :  "  Soldiers — the  forests,  the  defiles  of  Franconia, 
the  Saale  and  the  Elbe,  which  your  fathers  had  not  tra 
versed  in  seven  years,  you  have  traversed  in  seven  days, 
and  in  this  interval  you  have  fought  four  fights,  and  one 
pitched  battle.  You  have  sent  the  renown  of  your  vic 
tories  before  you  to  Potsdam  and  to  Berlin.  You  have 
made  sixty  thousand  prisoners,  taken  sixty -five  standards, 
six  hundred  pieces  of  cannon,  three  fortresses,  and  more 
than  twenty  Generals.  And  yet  nearly  one  half  of  you  regret 

*  Cong.  Globe,  January  5th?  1848. 


276  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

not  having  fired  a  shot.  All  the  provinces  of  the  Prussian 
monarchy,  as  far  as  the  banks  of  the  Oder,  will  be  in  your 
power."  At  Fricdland,  his  soul  would  have  been  "  satis 
fied  as  with  fat  things,"  as  the  address  of  the  hero  fell  upon 
his  ears.  '•  Soldiers — in  ten  days  you  have  taken  one 
hundred  and  twenty  pieces  of  cannon,  seven  standards, 
killed,  wounded,  or  captured,  sixty  thousand  Russian  pri 
soners  ;  taken  from  the  enemy  all  its  hospitals,  all  its 
magazines,  all  its  ambulances,  the  fortress  of  Konigsburg, 
the  three  hundred  vessels  that  were  in  the  port  laden  with 
every  species  of  munitions,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
thousand  muskets  that  England  had  sent  to  arm  our 
enemies." 

The  vast  amount  of  glory  and  misery  detailed  in  these 
addresses,  affords  a  significant  comment  on  "  the  instincts 
of  nature,"  and  the  pacific  doctrines  of  "  modern  philan 
thropists." 

Military  renown,  the  Senator  tells  us,  is  one  of  the 
greatest  elements  of  national  strength,  and  the  proudest 
source  of  gratification  to  every  man  who  loves  his  coun 
try,  and  desires  to  see  her  occupy  a  distinguished  position 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  The  first  assertion  is 
contradicted  by  history,  and  the  latter  by  the  declarations 
of  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  men,  whose  virtue 
and  benevolence  are  unquestioned.  If  military  renown 
ever  belonged  to  any  people,  the  precious  boon  was  en 
joyed  by  the  French  under  Buonaparte.  Yet  France  was, 
at  that  very  time,  bleeding  and  agonizing  at  every  pore, — 
her  commerce  destroyed, — her  manufactures  languishing, 
her  liberties  crushed,  her  young  men  dragged  by  the  con 
scription  from  the  paternal  hearth,  and  offered  a  bloody 
sacrifice  on  the  altar  of  personal  ambition  ;  and  finally 
this  same  great  element  of  national  strength  consigned 
the  nation  to  the  custody  of  a  foreign  army,  and  its  mighty 


REVIEW    OF    THE   MEXICAN    WAR.  277 

emperor,  to  a  lonely  rock.  It  was  on  that  rock,  and 
while  brooding  over  his  fallen  greatness,  that  this  scourge 
of  Europe  uttered  the  memorable  words,  "  The  love  of 
glory  is  like  the  bridge  which  Satan  threw  over  chaos,  to 
pass  from  Hell  to  Paradise."  Like  that  fabled  struc 
ture,  it  has  indeed  furnished  to  "  woes  unnumbered,"  a 
ready  entrance  into  our  unhappy  world.  In  losing  her 
hero,  and  her  glory,  France  parted  with  her  sorest 
plagues  ;  and  humbled  in  her  pride,  and  despoiled  of  her 
conquests,  she  enjoyed  for  a  series  of  years,  a  degree  of 
peace,  comfort,  and  prosperity  to  which  she  had  been  a 
stranger  from  the  foundation  of  her  monarchy. 


278  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 

PATRIOTISM. 

IMMEDIATELY  after  the  expulsion  of  the  Persians  from 
Greece,  the  fleets  of  the  States  in  alliance  with  Athens, 
were  collected  in  a  neighboring  port.  Theraistocles  ap 
peared  in  the  Athenian  Assembly,  and  announced  that  he 
had  a  plan  for  securing  the  power  and  glory  of  Athens  ; 
but,  that  secrecy  being  essential  to  its  success,  he  could 
not  make  it  public,  and  asked  for  instructions.  He  was 
authorized  to  communicate  it  to  Aristides,  and,  with  his 
approbation,  to  put  it  in  execution.  The  latter,  on  learn 
ing  the  plan,  reported,  that  nothing  could  possibly  con 
duce  more  to  the  grandeur  and  prosperity  of  Athens,  but 
nothing  could  possibly  be  more  unjust.  The  Assembly, 
without  inquiring  into  particulars,  ordered  that  the  plan, 
whatever  it  was,  should  be  abandoned.  Which  party 
displayed  the  purest  patriotism — the  Assembly,  which  re 
fused  to  augment  the  power  of  the  Republic  by  an  act  of 
injustice,  or  the  illustrious  scoundrel  who  proposed  ren 
dering  his  country  the  mistress  of  Greece  by  firing  the 
assembled  fleets  of  her  allies  ?  Should  the  question  be 
decided  by  the  sentiment  so  generally  adopted  by  a 
Christian  people,  "our  country  right  or  wrong,"  the  de 
cision  would  be  adverse  to  the  pagan  Athenians.  But 
perhaps  it  will  be  said,  that  the  sentiment  is  intended  to 
apply  only  in  a  state  of  war,  and  that  it  is  only  after  a 
declaration  of  hostilities  that  we  are  bound  to  support 
and  vindicate  the  acts  and  pretensions  of  the  Government, 


REVIEW    Ol'%    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  279 

however  villainous.  It  is  not  easy  to  understand,  how 
the  act  of  a  King  or  a  Congress  can  dissolve  those  obli 
gations  of  truth,  justice,  and  mercy  which  the  Creator 
has  imposed  upon  all  his  creatures.  Yet  the  violation 
and  contempt  of  those  obligations,  for  the  supposed  in 
terests  of  the  public,  seem  by  many  to  be  regarded  as 
the  test  of  patriotism. 

Few  virtues  are  more  universally  professed,  few  are 
more  imperfectly  apprehended,  and  few  are  more  rarely 
practised,  than  PATRIOTISM.  From  the  time  of  Absalom 
to  the  last  electioneering  meeting,  patriotic  professions 
have  been  the  cheap  materials  from  which  demagogues 
have  attempted  to  construct  their  fortunes. 

Counterfeits  imply  an  original.  There  is  such  a  virtue 
as  patriotism,  acknowledged  and  inculcated  by  both  natu 
ral  and  revealed  religion  ;  and  it  is  but  a  development  of 
that  benevolence  which  springs  from  moral  goodness.  To 
do  good  unto  all  men  as  we  have  opportunity,  is  an  in 
junction  invested  with  divine  authority.  Generally  our 
ability  to  do  good  is  confined  to  our  families,  neighbors, 
and  countrymen ;  and  the  natural  promptings  of  our 
hearts  lead  us  to  select  these  in  preference  to  more  dis 
tant  objects,  for  the  subjects  of  our  kind  offices.  Our 
benevolence,  when  directed  to  our  countrymen  at  large, 
constitutes  PATRIOTISM  ;  and  its  exercise  is  as  much  con 
trolled  by  the  laws  of  morality,  as  when  confined  to  our 
neighbors  or  our  families.  A  voice  from  Heaven  has  for 
bidden  us,  ''  to  do  evil  that  good  may  come."  The  sen 
timent,  "  our  country  right  or  wrong,"  is  as  profligate  and 
impious  as  would  be  the  sentiment,  "  our  church,  or  our 
party,  right  or  wrong."  If  it  be  rebellion  against  God  to 
violate  his  laws  for  the  benefit  of  one  individual,  however 
dear  to  us,  not  less  sinful  must  it  be  to  commit  a  similar  act 
for  the  benefit  of  any  number  of  individuals.  If  we  may 


280  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

not,  in  kindness  to  the  highwayman,  assist  him  in  robbing 
and  murdering  the  traveller,  what  divine  law  permits  us 
to  aid  any  number  of  our  own  countrymen  in  robbing  and 
murdering  other  people  ?  He  who  engages  in  a  defen 
sive  war,  with  a  full  conviction  of  its  necessity  and  justice, 
may  be  impelled  by  patriotism,  by  a  benevolent  desire  to 
save  the  lives,  and  property,  and  rights  of  his  country 
men.  But,  if  he  believes  the  war  to  be  one  of  invasion 
and  conquest,  and  utterly  unjust,  by  taking  part  in  it,  he 
assumes  its  guilt,  and  becomes  responsible  for  its  crimes. 
But  soldiers,  it  is  said,  are  bound  to  obey  orders,  with 
out  inquiring  into  their  morality.  Where  enlistments  are 
voluntary,  this  obligation  is  assumed,  not  imposed,  and  it 
may  well  be  questioned,  whether  any  man  is  at  liberty  to 
promise  unqualified  obedience  to  others.  But  the  obliga 
tion  of  the  soldier,  does  not  affect  the  duties  of  the  citi 
zen.  The  latter  is  free  from  the  promises  of  the  former. 
The  Government  has  declared  a  war  of  invasion  and 
conquest,  one  which  the  citizen  believes  to  be  most 
iniquitous — is  he  required  by  duty,  that  is,  by  the  com 
mands  of  God,  voluntarily  to  aid  the  Government  in 
prosecuting  such  a  war,  by  the  offer  of  his  money  and 
services  ?  If  he  is,  then  all  people  are  under  a  divine 
obligation  to  aid  their  respective  Governments  in  all  their 
wars,  however  piratical,  and  waged  for  any  purpose, 
however  detestable.  Such  indeed,  is  the  sentiment  ad 
vanced  in  the  following  lines, 

"  Stand  thou  by  thy  country's  quarrel, 

Be  thai  quarrel  what  it  may ; 

He  shall  wear  the  greenest  laurel, 

Who  shall  greatest  zeal  display  "    » 

Here  we  have  an  American  poet,  who  would  exult  in  the 
massacre  of  Glencoe,  sing  peans  to  the  Duke  of  Alva, 
and  crown  with  the  greenest  laurels  the  butchers  of  the 
Albigenses. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  281 

"  Our  country  right  or  wrong,"  is  rebellion  against 
the  moral  Government  of  Jehovah,  and  treason  to  the 
cause  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  of  justice  and 
humanity. 

Actions  springing  from  mere  selfishness,  rarely  com 
mand  the  respect  of  mankind,  and  the  patriotism  that  is 
self-denying  and  costly,  is  more  likely  to  be  genuine  than 
that  which  is  lucrative.  Tried  by  this  test,  there  is  com 
paratively  but  little  patriotism  in  the  world.  The  dema 
gogue,  who  echoes  the  clamor  of  the  mob,  and  thus 
opens  to  himself  an  avenue  to  wealth  and  power,  gives  a 
very  inconclusive  proof  of  his  patriotism  ;  while  he  who, 
in  promoting  what  he  believes  to  be  the  public  weal, 
exposes  himself  to  obloquy  and  loss,  may  reasonably  be 
regarded  as  governed  by  disinterested  motives. 

One  of  the  most  universal  of  popular  delusions,  is  that 
which  awards  patriotism  to  the  soldier.  But  soldiers 
frequently  engage  in  wars  in  which  their  country  has  no 
interest  whatever  ;  and,  although  military  skill,  and  valor 
of  a  high  order,  have  often  been  displayed  by  mercenary 
troops,  they  are  .surely  not  entitled  to  the  meed  of  patri 
otism. 

It  is  well-known,  that  multitudes  adopt  the  military 
profession  as  a  livelihood,  with  the  expectation  of  pay, 
promotion,  and  distinction.  It  is  not  obvious  that  in 
selecting  this  profession,  they  are  more  influenced  by  a 
desire  to  do  good  to  their  country,  than  the  lawyer,  phy 
sician,  divine,  or  mechanic.  No  class  of  men  have  in  the 
history  of  the  world,  been  more  ready  instruments  of 
oppression,  cruelty,  and  tyrany,  than  soldiers  ;  and 
scarcely  ever  have  the  liberties  of  a  people  been  de 
stroyed,  but  through  their  agency.  Rarely,  indeed,  have 
the  representatives  of  a  people  convened  in  Senates  or 
Parliaments,  surrendered  their  rights  to  an  usurper,  except 


282  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

when  overawed  and  compelled  by  military  force.  That 
soldiers  have  been  governed  by  a  high  sense  of  patriotism 
it  would  be  folly  to  deny,  but  still  greater  folly  to  affirm 
that  such  is  generally  the  case. 

We  are  fond  of  dwelling  on  the  patriotism  of  the  sol 
diers  of  the  Revolution ;  and  yet  we  have  high  authority 
to  prove  that,  in  many  instances,  their  claim  to  this  virtue 
was  exceedingly  equivocal.  Washington,  in  a  long  letter  to 
Congress,  24th  September,  1776,  gives  a  melancholy 
picture  of  the  demoralization  of  the  army :  "  Thirty  or 
forty  soldiers  will  desert  at  a  time,  and  of  late  a  practice 
prevails  of  a  most  alarming  nature,  and  which  will,  if  it 
cannot  be  checked,  prove  fatal  both  to  the  country  and 
the  army.  I  mean  the  infamous  practice  of  plundering ; 
for  under  the  idea  of  Tory  property,  or  property  that  may 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  no  man  is  secure  in  his 
effects,  and  scarcely  in  his  person.  In  order  to  get  at  them, 
we  have  several  instances  of  people  being  frightened  out 
of  their  houses,  under  pretence  of  their  houses  being 
ordered  to  be  burned,  and  this  is  done  with  a  view  of 
seizing  the  goods ;  nay,  in  order  that  the  villainy  may  be 
more  effectually  concealed,  some  houses  have  already  been 
burned  to  cover  the  theft.  I  have  used  my  utmost 
endeavors  to  stop  this  horrid  practice ;  but  under  the 
present  lust  after  plunder,  and  want  of  laws  to  punish 
offenders,  I  might  almost  as  well  attempt  to  move  Mount 
Atlas.7'  He  then  goes  on  to  detail  the  difficulty  he  had, 
in  getting  a  court- martial  to  convict  an  officer  for  stealing. 
Again,  on  the  3d  May,  1777,  he  writes  to  Congress  :  "  The 
desertions  from  our  army  of  late  have  been  very  considerable" 

The  same  year,  Adjutant- General  Reed,  writes  to 
Congress  :  "  When  the  hurry  of  retreat  or  action  made 
it  difficult  to  go  through  the  forms  of  trial,  all  restraints 
seemed  to  be  broken  through.  A  spirit  of  desertion, 


REVIEW    OF    THE   MEXICAN    WAR.  283 

cowardice,  plunder,  and  shrinking  from  duty,  when  attend 
ed  with  fatigue  or  danger,  prevailed  but  too  generally 
through  the  whole  army/'* 

It  is  true,  a  soldier  perils  his  life ;  but  other  men  do 
the  same  for  money,  without  any  reference  to  the  good  of 
their  country.  Says  Washington,  writing  to  Congress, 
February  9th,  1776:  "Three  things  prompt  men  to  a 
regular  discharge  of  their  duty  in  time  of  action — natural 
bravery,  hope  of  reward,  and  fear  of  punishment.  The 
two  first  are  common  to  the  uninstructed  and  the  disci 
plined  soldier ;  but  the  latter  most  obviously  distinguishes 
the  one  from  the  other.  A  coward,  when  taught  to 
believe  that,  if  he  breaks  his  ranks  and  abandons  his 
colors,  he  will  be  punished  with  death  by  his  own  party, 
will  take  his  chance  against  the  enemy."  Washington  was 
too  well  acquainted  with  human  nature,  and  too  much 
devoted  to  truth,  to  attribute  martial  valor  to  patriotism. 
The  patriotism  of  our  soldiers  in  Mexico,  is  a  never-failing 
topic  of  eulogy  with  our  political  aspirants  ;  but  from  a 
report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  made  8th  April,  1848,  it 
appears  that  the  desertions  in  Mexico,  up  to  the  31st 
December,  1847,  so  far  as  they  could  be  ascertained  from 
confessedly  very  imperfect  returns,  amounted  very  nearly 
to  five  thousand,  about  one-sixteenth  of  the  whole  number 
of  troops  employed.  The  newspapers  represent  the  de 
sertions,  in  the  early  part  of  1848,  as  very  numerous. 

The  records  of  history,  as  well  as  daily  observation, 
teach  us,  that  patriotism  is  as  rarely  the  virtue  of  politi 
cians  as  it  is  of  soldiers.  "  To  the  victors  belong  the 
spoils,"  now  the  avowed  maxim  of  American  parties, 
reveals  the  true  object  of  multitudes  who  are  vociferous 
in  their  professions  of  devotion  to  the  public  interest. 
An  active  politician,  who  is  not  the  possessor  or  the 
*  Life  of  Reed,  I.  240. 


284  REVIEW    OF    TUE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

expectant  of  office,  is  a  personage  rarely  to  be  found  in 
our  Republic.  To  pursue  measures  supposed  to  be 
popular,  affords  a  very  uncertain  indication  of  virtuous 
motives. 

It  seems  impossible  that  any  candid  person  acquainted 
with  the  origin  and  causes  of  the  Mexican  war,  should  in 
sist  that  its  necessity  and  justice  were  so  palpable  as  to 
exclude  all  doubt :  or  that  the  assertion  that  the  Mexicans 
commenced  the  war  by  invading  the  United  States,  and 
shedding  American  blood  upon  American  soil,  is  sup 
ported  by  such  irrefragable  testimony,  that  no  well-in 
formed  man  can  honestly  deny  its  truth.  Many  of  the 
democratic  members  of  Congress,  in  their  reproaches  of 
the  Whigs  for  voting  for  a  war  which  they  denounced  as 
unjust,  declared  such  a  war  to  be  the  greatest  of  crimes, 
and  those  who  prosecuted  it,  guilty  of  murder.  Even 
Mr.  Folk's  organ  thus  abused  the  Whigs  for  voting  thanks 
to  victorious  Generals : — "  None  but  the  Whigs  would 
think  of  rewarding  men  volunteering  to  fight  in  a  war  un 
constitutionally  commenced  by  one  man,  and  prosecuted 
in  contempt  of  national  honor."  Yet  this  same  ready 
tool  had  been  lavish  of  his  charges  of  treason  against  all 
who  opposed  the  war,  whatever  might  be  their  conscien 
tious  opinion  of  its  character.  But  if  an  unjust  war  be 
indeed  a  crime,  involving  its  authors  and  abettors  in  the 
guilt  of  murder,  it  is  most  remarkable  that  not  one  Demo 
crat  in  two  successive  Congresses,  found  his  conscience 
burthened  with  the  momentous  question,  whether  the 
Mexican  war  was  or  was  not  unjust !  Probably  not  two 
of  these  gentlemen  entertained  precisely  the  same  opinion 
on  the  great  truths  of  scripture,  yet  not  a  solitary  indivi 
dual  of  the  party  saw  aught  but  verities  in  Mr.  Folk's 
messages  !  When  we  remember  the  diversities  of  the 
human  mind,  and  the  complicated  and  contradictory  tes- 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  285 

timony  in  relation  to  the  origin  of  the  war,  and  the  wide 
difference  of  opinion  respecting  it,  throughout  the  nation, 
the  unanimous,  unfaltering  faith  of  these  gentlemen  is  a 
moral  phenomenon.  Their  faith,  however,  was  counted 
to  them,  if  not  for  righteousness,  at  least  for  obedience, 
and  opened  to  many  of  them  a  vista  to  future  office  and 
power.  Under  such  circumstances,  their  support  of  the  war 
cannot  be  taken  as  irresistible  proof  of  their  patriotism. 
IN  or  is  the  evidence  of  the  patriotism  of  their  opponents  af 
forded  by  their  vote  for  an  acknowledged  falsehood,  and 
their  grant  of  men  and  money  to  wage  a  war  admitted  to  be 
iniquitous,  of  a  more  conclusive  character.  The  Demo 
crats,  according  to  the  orthodox  rule,  showed  their  faith 
by  their  works,  while  the  unbelieving  Whigs  rested 
their  justification  on  their  works  alone.  Denying  the 
necessity,  expediency,  and  justice  of  the  war,  as  well 
as  the  wisdom  and  integrity  of  Mr.  Polk,  they  surren 
dered  to  him  the  army  and  navy,  with  an  additional  force 
of  50,000  men,  and  all  the  money  he  desired,  to  carry 
fire  and  sword  into  Mexico,  and  to  dismember  that  Re 
public.  To  have  done  all  this  with  a  single  desire  to 
benefit  their  own  country,  would  have  been  at  least  a 
very  questionable  benevolence,  and  a  very  ambiguous 
patriotism. 

Mr.  Clay,  the  distinguished  and  beloved  leader  of  the 
Whig  party,  in' a  public  speech  delivered  in  Kentucky, 
declared  that  the  preamble  to  the  war  bill,  "  falsely 
attributed  the  commencement  of  the  war  to  the  act  of 
Mexico."  He  then  added — "  I  have  no  doubt  of  the  pa 
triotic  motives  of  those  who,  after  struggling  to  divest  the 
bill  of  that  flagrant  error,  found  themselves  constrained 
to  vote  for  it ;  but  I  must  say,  that  no  earthly  considera 
tion  would  have  ever  tempted  me  to  vote  for  a  bill  with  a 
PALPABLE  FALSEHOOD  stamped  on  its  face.  Almost  idol- 


286  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

izing  truth,  as  I  do,  I  never,  never  could  have  voted  for 
the  bill."  Of  course,  Mr.  Clay's  patriotism  so  far  differs 
from  that  of  the  gentlemen  alluded  to,  that  it  cannot  lead 
him  to  sacrifice  TRUTH  for  the  cause  of  his  country.  He 
then  goes  on  to  remark,  that  the  war  of  1812,  against 
Great  Britain,  was  of  a  widely  different  character  from 
the  present,  being  a,  just  war,  and  so  admitted  by  its  op 
ponents,  who,  from  motives  of  policy,  refused  to  support 
it,  and  that  in  consequence,  "  they  lost,  and  justly  lost 
the  public  confidence,"  that  is,  they  lost  their  political 
ascendency.  He  then  asks  the  following  very  significant 
question  :  "  Has  not  the  apprehension  of  a  similar  fate, 
in  a  case  widely  different,  repressed  a  fearless  expression 
of  their  real  sentiments  in  some  of  our  public  men  ?"  This 
interrogatory  has  all  the  force  of  an  assertion.  To  what 
public  men  does  he  refer  ?  Surely  not  to  Mr.  Polk  and 
his  party.  His  remarks  irresistibly  confine  his  question 
to  the  "  some  "  Whigs  in  Congress,  who,  from  fear  of 
losing  their  popularity,  as  the  Federalists  had  before  done, 
voted  for  the  "  palpable  falsehood,"  the  war  and  the  sup 
plies.  If  he  intended  to  intimate,  and  on  no  other  suppo-' 
sition  is  his  language  intelligible,  that  these  Whigs  voted 
as  they  did  from  selfish  considerations,  it  is  deeply  to  be 
lamented  that  a  man  almost  idolizing  truth,  should  have 
hazarded  the  declaration,  that  he  had  no  doubt  of  their 
patriotic  motives.  We  have  already  noticed  the  frank 
admission  of  the  American  Review,  a  Whig  organ,  that  on 
this  occasion  the  Whig  members  seemed  more  solicitous 
about  "personal  popularity  "  than  for  the  cause  of  "  TRUTH 

AND  RIGHT." 

Subsequent  developments  have  abundantly  confirmed 
the  intimations  of  Mr.  Clay  and  of  the  Review.  It  has 
been  shown  by  the  declarations  of  certain  Whig  members 
of  Congress,  published  in  the  newspapers,  that  on  the 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  287 

day  war  was  declared,  they  were  urged  to  vote  for  the 
bill,  on  the  ground  that  "  it  would  be  bad  policy  to  op 
pose  the  bill,"  and  that  this  opinion  was  supported  by  a 
reference  to  the  political  fate  of  those  who  had  opposed 
the  war  of  1812  against  Great  Britain.  In  a  deliberate 
consent  to  sacrifice  the  peace  of  the  country,  to  squander 
its  treasures  and  its  blood,  and  to  trample  under  foot  both 
truth  and  justice,  from  considerations  of  party  policy,  and 
for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  personal  popularity,  and  with 
it,  office  and  its  emoluments,  it  is  not  easy  to  detect  those 
"patriotic  motives"  which  Mr.  Clay  very  courteously  and 
imdoubtingly  attributes  to  the  Whig  members  who  voted 
for  the  war. 

On  the  13th  May,  1846,  Congress  voted  that  "  By  the 
act  of  the  Republic  of  Mexico,  war  existed  between  that 
Bepublic  and  the  United  States."  On  the  31st  January, 
1848,  ft  new  House  of  Representatives  voted,  that  this 
same  war  was  "  unconstitutionally  and  unnecessarily  be 
gun  by  the  President  of  the  United  States."  In  the 
affirmative  of  this  latter  vote,  we  find  recorded  the  names 
of  fifteen  Whig  Members  who  had  belonged  to  the  late 
house,  and  whose  names  are  also  recorded  in  the  affirma 
tive  of  the  former  vote.  The  last  declaration,  however 
truthful,  was  no  doubt  considered  equally  good  policy 
with  the  first,  inasmuch  as  a  presidential  election  was 
approaching,  and  it  was  expedient  to  throw  odium  on  the 
rival  party,  and  on  Mr.  Polk  its  acknowledged  head. 

One  of  the  gentlemen  who  voted  for  both  declarations 
thus  expressed  his  opinion  of  this  self-same  war :  "  En 
tertaining  these  views  upon  the  origin  and  purposes  of 
the  war,  I  can  consider  it  in  no  other  light  than  as  a 
NATIONAL  CRIME;  but,  independent  of  this,  it  is  an  of 
fence  against  the  moral  spirit  of  our  time,  a  retrograde 
step  in  the  movement  of  humanity,  a  violent  wresting  of 


288  REVIEW  or  THE  MEXICAN  WAR. 

our  national  energy  and  national  resources,  to  unnatural 
and  mischievous  uses.  I  have  no  desire  that  a  single 
Mexican  wife  should  be  made  a  widow,  a  single  Mexican 
child  an  orphan ;  and  I  would  rather  that  my  country 
should  sit  down  in  honest,  shame,  than  purchase,  at  the 
price  of  rapine,  and  tears,  and  blood,  the  '  unjust  glory  ' 
of  waving  her  flag  over  all  the  wide  continent  that 
stretches  between  the  stormy  Atlantic  and  the  shores  of 
the  tranquil  sea : 

*  One  murder  makes  a  villain,  thousands  a,  hero.'  " 

A  little  timely  reflection  might  have  warned  this  gen 
tleman  that  the  fifty  thousand  troops  he  voted  to  place 
under  the  orders  of  Mr.  Polk  to  prosecute  "  a  national 
crime,"  might  peradventure  cause  many  Mexican  widows 
and  orphans,  acquire  by  conquest  ''unjust  glory,"  and 
make  more  than  one  "  hero." 

He  alone  who  governs  himself  by  the  laws  of  God  will 
act  consistently ;  while  he  who  follows  the  ever- varying 
monitions  of  party  policy  will  often  be  found  wandering 
in  tortuous  paths. 

History  and  daily  observation  compel  the  conviction, 
that  patriotism  is  more  frequently  professed  than  prac 
tised,  and  that  much  which  assumes  the  name,  and  passes 
current  with  the  world,  is  utterly  spurious.  Yet  it  is  also 
true,  that  the  patriotism  which  seeks  the  public  good,  in 
obedience  to  the  Divine  will,  and  in  accordance  with  the 
precepts  of  the  Gospel,  far  from  being  an  imaginary,  is  a 
real  and  active  virtue.  It  is,  indeed,  to  be  found  in  camps 
and  senates,  but  these  are  not  its  exclusive  nor  its  favorite 
haunts.  This  patriotism  inspires  many  a  prayer  for  the 
peace,  virtue,  and  happiness  of  the  nation,  and  prompts 
innumerable  efforts  and  costly  sacrifices  of  time  and  money 
for  the  temporal  and  spiritual  welfare  of  our  fellow-coun- 


*  Speech  of  Mr.  Marsh,  Feb.  1*.  1*4*.— Con.  Gl 


"1  >( 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  289 

trymen.  Were  we  permitted  to  trace  effects  to  their 
causes,  in  the  moral  government  of  the  world,  we  should 
doubtless  find  that  much  of  our  prosperity  as  a  people 
flows  from  the  labors  of  faithful  pastors,  self-denying 
Sunday-school  teachers,  and  sincere,  zealous,  but  humble 
Christian  men  and  women.  It  is  chiefly  by  such  patriot 
ism,  gentle  and  noiseless  as  the  dew  of  Heaven,  that  our 
land  is  clothed  with  moral  verdure  and  beauty,  and  that 
those  who  sit  under  their  own  vine,  with  none  to  make 
them  afraid,  are  indebted  for  the  peace  and  security  they 
enjoy. 

Patriotism  springing  from  obedience  to  God,  guided  by 
His  laws,  and  exercised  in  official  station  for  the  national 
welfare,  at  the  certain  and  willing  loss  of  popular  favor 
and  personal  advantage,  is  perhaps  the  highest  perfection 
to  which  this  virtue  can  attain.  Our  own  recent  history 
affords  an  illustrious  instance  of  such  patriotism.  We 
proceed  to  trace  the  course  of  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS,  be 
cause  we  find  in  it  a  sanction  for  almost  every  moral  and 
political  sentiment  maintained  in  these  pages;  and  also 
because  his  example  is  well  calculated  to  quicken  and  to 
purify  the  love  of  country,  and  to  convey  to  all  lessons  of 
virtue  and  true  wisdom. 
25 


290  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

JOHN    QUINCY    ADAMS. 

CUSTOM  has  sanctioned  certain  funeral  honors  on  the  de 
cease  of  a  man  who  has  been  President  of  the  Republic, 
which,  like  the  salute  given  to  a  military  officer,  affords 
no  evidence  of  respect  for  his  personal  character.  The 
honors  paid  to  the  memory  of  Adams  were  the  outpour 
ings  of  the  heart  of  a  great  nation.  The  strife  of  faction 
was  stilled,  the  voice  of  party  was  dumb,  and  the  whole 
American  people  acknowledged  and  deplored  the  depart 
ure  of  a  PATRIOT.  It  is  interesting,  and  may  be  useful,  to 
inquire  into  the  cause  of  this  wonderful  and  universal  at 
testation,  in  the  midst  of  high  political  excitement,  to  the 
merits  of  a  public  man. 

Mr.  Adams  had  long  been  in  public  life  ;  but  his  career, 
for  the  most  part,  had  not  been  calculated  to  win  the 
affections  of  the  people.  It  was  commenced  in  the  Fede 
ral  party.  He  incurred  the  deep  hostility  of  that  party 
by  abandoning  it  at  a  critical  and  important  juncture,  and 
exposed  his  motives  to  suspicion  by  accepting  office  from 
his  late  opponents.  The  democratic  party,  which  had 
•welcomed  him  into  its  bosom,  and  had  abundantly  re 
warded  what  was  deemed  his  apostacy,  he  abandoned  in 
turn,  and,  as  a  Whig,  became  its  active  and  zealous  foe. 
Much  of  his  life  was  passed  at  foreign  courts ;  and,  al 
though  always  able,  he  gathered  no  unusual  laurels  in  the 
field  of  diplomacy.  Having  never  borne  arms,  no  mili 
tary  halo  encircled  his  brow.  In  1824,  at  a  period  of 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  291 

singular  party  disorganization,  he  was  one  of  four  candi 
dates  for  the  Presidency.  He  received  fewer  votes  than 
one  of  his  competitors,  but,  as  neither  had  a  majority  of 
the  whole  number,  the  election  devolved  on  the  House  of 
Representatives.  By  that  body  he  was  chosen  President 
by  the  smallest  possible  majority,  and  the  vote  of  one  of 
the  largest  States  was  decided  in  his  favor  by  a  single 
ballot.  Instantly  the  whole  country  resounded  with 
charges  against  him  of  base  corruption.  His  administra 
tion,  although  pure,  did  not  give  general  satisfaction.  He 
was  a  candidate  for  the  succeeding  term,  and  was  de 
feated  by  a  large  majority  ;  and  he  retired  to  private  life, 
one  of  the  most  unpopular  of  all  the  prominent  politicians 
of  the  country. 

In  1831,  to  the  surprise  of  all,  and  to  the  mortification 
of  many  of  his  friends,  he  accepted  a  seat  in  the  House  of 
Representatives.  He  came  there  avowedly,  to  use  his 
own  words,  "  bound  in  allegiance  to  no  party,  whether 
sectional  or  political."  He  was  thus  deprived  of  that 
countenance  and  support  which  parties  give  both  to  their 
leaders  and  their  tools.  He  was,  it  is  true,  confessedly  a 
Whig ;  but  so  independent  was  his  course,  that  he  was 
continually  ridiculed  as  "running  off  the  track,"  and  re 
garded  as  a  man  not  to  be  depended  on.  He  exerted 
but  little  influence  in  the  House,  and  attracted  but  little 
attention  till  about  the  year  1836. 

At  this  time  the  agitation  of  the  anti-slavery  question 
roused  the  holders  of  slaves  to  great  exasperation,  and 
alarmed  the  two  political  parties  at  the  North,  lest  their 
supposed  sympathy  with  the  cause  of  human  freedom 
might  weaken  the  friendship  of  their  southern  allies,  and 
deprive  them  of  their  cooperation  in  the  pursuit  of  office. 
Hence  Whigs  and  Democrats  contended  which  should 
show  the  most  devotion  to  slavery,  the  most  zeal  in  sup- 


292  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

pressing  the  liberty  of  the  press,  and  the  freedom  of  dis 
cussion.  Both  whig  and  democratic  Governors  assailed 
the  Abolitionists  in  their  official  Messages,  threatening 
them  with*the  penalties  of  the  law.  Mobs  were  raised  in 
the  large  cities,  by  the  efforts  of  rival  newspapers  and 
politicians.  Printing  presses  were  destroyed,  individuals 
assaulted,  churches  sacked,  and  the  freedom  of  the  Post- 
Office  shamefully  invaded  with  the  connivance  of  a  demo 
cratic  President  and  cabinet,  postmasters  being  permit 
ted  to  abstract  from  the  mails  whatever  they  deemed 
offensive  to  the  slaveholders.  But  vain  would  it  be  to 
suppress  anti-slavery  tracts  and  newspapers,  if  a  few  in 
dependent  members  were  permitted  to  make  anti-slavery 
speeches  on  the  floor  of  Congress,  and  which  the  press 
would  spread  on  the  wings  of  the  wind  as  a  portion  of 
the  ordinary  debates.  Such  speeches  had  been  made, 
and  they  were  called  forth  by  anti-slavery  petitions. 
Hence,  it  was  resolved  to  abolish  the  right  of  petition,  and 
the  freedom  of  discussion  in  Congress,  on  all  subjects  re 
lating  to  slavery.  It  was  on  the  26th  May,  1836,  that 
the  House  of  Representatives  passed,  without  debate,  the 
celebrated  rule,  known  from  the  name  of  its  author,  as  the 
Pinkney  Gag.  From  this  moment,  utterly  discarding  all 
considerations  of  political  influence,  Mr.  Adams  devoted 
himself  to  the  defence  of  constitutional  liberty,  assailed  by 
the  southern  slaveholders,  and  their  northern  allies.*  On 
the  question  of  the  gag-rule,  prostrating  alike  the  right  of 
petition,  and  the  freedom  of  discussion  on  the  floor  of  the 
House,  Mr.  Adams,  being  precluded  by  the  previous  ques 
tion  from  offering  any  remark,  refused  to  vote,  exclaiming, 
when  his  name  was  called,  "  I  consider  this  resolution  as 
a  direct  violation  of  the  rules  of  this  House,  of  the  Con- 

*  Of  seventy -nine  northern  Democrats,  sixty-two  voted  with 
the  slaveholders,  and  only  one  of  forty-four  northern  Whigs. 


Ki:vn:;w  OF   'iin>  MEXICAN  WAR.  293 

stitution  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  rights  of  my 
constituents."  He  then  demanded  that  his  refusal  to 
vote,  and  the  reason  assigned,  should  be  entered  upon  the 
minutes.  The  boldness  and  independence  which  he  exhi 
bited  on  this  occasion,  so  novel  and  unexpected,  so  ut 
terly  at  variance  with  the  usual  deferential  submission  of 
northern  politicians  to  southern  dictation,  instantly  riveted 
upon  him  the  gaze  of  his  countrymen,  nor  was  that  gaze 
intermitted,  till  twelve  years  afterwards,  it  beheld  his 
honored  and  revered  remains  deposited  in  the  tomb  of 
his  ancestors.  He  declared,  in  the  presence  of  its  authors 
and  supporters,  that  the  gag-rule  was  "  an  infamous  reso 
lution."  He  fearlessly  imputed  it  to  corrupt  motives,  and 
waged  against  it,  a  most  vigorous  and  unceasing  warfare, 
in  speeches,  in  public  addresses,  in  letters  through  the 
press  to  his  own  constituents,  and  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  till  in  December,  1845,  he  had  the  glory 
of  carrying  a  resolution  for  its  abolition. 

Of  all  abominations  in  the  sight  of  southern  members 
of  Congress,  the  alleged  right  of  slaves  to  offer  petitions 
to  the  national  legislature,  was  the  most  atrocious,  striking, 
in  their  opinion,  a  fatal  blow  at  the  authority  of  the  mas 
ters.  Mr.  Adams,  however,  told  the  House,  "  If  slaves 
were  laboring  under  grievances  and  afflictions  not  incident 
to  their  condition  as  slaves,  but  to  their  natures  as  human 
beings,  born  to  trouble  as  the  sparks  fly  upward,  and  it 
were  in  the  power  and  competency  of  the  House  to  afford 
them  relief,  and  if  the  House  would  permit  me,  I  most 
assuredlv  would  present,  their  petition  ;  and,  if  that  avowal 
deserves  the  censure  of  the  House,  I  am  ready  to  receive 
it.  I  would  not  deny  the  right  of  petition  to  slaves.  I 
would  not  deny  it  to  a  horse  or  a  dog,  if  they  could  arti 
culate  their  sufferings,  and  I  could  relieve  them." 

When  threatened  with  an  indictment  for  his  and- slavery 
25* 


294  REV  I  FAY    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR, 

course  by  a  southern  Member,  he  replied,  "  Did  the  gen 
tleman  think  to  frighten  me  from  my  purpose  by  his 
threat  of  a  grand  jury  ?  He  mistook  his  man.  I  am  not 
to  be  frightened  from  the  discharge  of  a  duty  by  the  in 
dignation  of  the  gentleman,  nor  by  all  the  grand  juries  in 
the  Universe." 

As  slavery  demanded  for  its  protection,  the  suppres 
sion  of  the  right  of  petition  and  the  liberty  of  speech,  he 
freely  canvassed  its  claims  to  such  sacrifices,  on  the  part 
of  the  free  states.  He  spoke  of  it  as  "  The  God-defying 
institution."  Mr.  Clay  had  contended  that  that  was  pro 
perty  which  the  laws  made  so.  "  The  soul  of  man,"  said 
Mr.  Adams,  "  cannot  by  human  laws,  be  made  the  pro 
perty  of  another.  The  owner  of  a  slave  is  the  owner  of  a 
living  corpse  ;  but  he  is  not  the  owner  of  a  man."  He  de 
clared,  "  unyielding  hostility  against  slavery  is  interwoven 
with  every  pulsation  of  my  heart.  Resistance  against  it, 
feeble  and  inefficient  as  the  last  accents  of  a  failing  voice 
may  be,  shall  still  be  heard,  while  the  power  of  utterance 
shall  remain."  In  the  presence  of  the  slaveholding  mem 
bers  he  avowed,  that  in  his  prayers  to  Almighty  God  he 
daily  invoked  Him  for  the  abolition  of  slavery.  The  in 
ternal  traffic  did  not  escape  his  anathema  :  "  If,"  said  he, 
ifihe  African  slave  trade  was  piracy,  the  American  slave 
trade  could  not  be  innocent,  nor  could  its  aggravated  tur 
pitude  be  denied."  From  the  admitted  wickedness  of  the 
African  slave  trade,  he  very  logically  deduced  the  wicked 
ness  of  slavery  itself.  "  If,"  said  he,  "  the  African  slave 
trade  be  piracy,  human  reason  cannot  resist,  nor  can  hu 
man  sophistry  refute,  the  conclusion,  that  the  essence  of 
the  crime  consists  not  in  the  trade,  but  in  slavery,  ^rade 
has  nothing  in  itself  criminal  by  the  law  of  nature." 

At  a  time  when  politicians  and  pretended  patriots  were 
endeavoring  to  suppress  the  discussion  of  slavery,  as  fata) 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAE.  295 

to  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  he  delivered  a  Fourth  of 
July  address,  in  which  he  declared,  that  the  "free  and 
unrestrained  discussion  of  the  rights  and  wrongs  of  sla 
very,  far  from  endangering  the  union  of  these  States,  is 
the  only  condition  upon  which  the  Union  can  be  preserved 
and  perpetuated.  Are  you  to  bless  the  earth  beneath 
your  feet  because  it  spurns  the  footstep  of  a  slave,  and 
then  to  choke  the  utterance  of  your  voice  lest  the  sound 
of  liberty  should  be  re-echoed  from  the  Palmetto  groves, 
with  the  discordant  notes  of  disunion  ?  No  !  No  !" 

In  a  letter  to  his  constituents,  he  thus  described  the 
state  of  the  country  :  "  What  see  we  now  ?  Commu 
nities  of  slaveholding  braggarts  of  freedom,  setting  at 
defiance  the  laws  of  nature  and  of  nature's  God,  restoring 
slavery  where  it  had  been  extinguished  (Texas),  and  vainly 
dreaming  to  make  it  eternal.  Forming  in  the  sacred  name 
of  liberty,  constitutions  of  government,  and  interdicting  to 
the  legislative  authority,  the  most  blessed  of  all  human 
powers,  the  power  of  giving  liberty  to  the  slave  !  Gov 
ernors  of  States  urging  upon  their  legislatures,  to  make 
the  exercise  of  the  freedom  of  speech  to  propagate  the 
rights  of  the  slave  to  freedom,  felony  without  benefit  of 
clergy.  Ministers  of  the  Gospel,  like  the  priest  in  the 
parable,  coming  and  looking  at  the  bleeding  victim  of 
the  highway  robber,  and  passing  on  the  other  side !  or 
baser  still,  perverting  the  pages  of  the  sacred  volume,  to 
turn  into  a  code  of  slavery  the  very  Word  of  God  !  In 
furiated  mobs  murdering  the  peaceful  minister  of  Christ, 
for  the  purpose  of  extinguishing  the  light  of  a  printing 
press,  and  burning  with  unhallowed  fire,  the  hall  of  free 
dom,  the  orphan  school,  and  the  Church  devoted  to  the 
worship  of  Go3 !  and  last  of  all,  both  Houses  of  Con 
gress  turning  a  deaf  ear  to  hundreds  of  thousands  of  pe 
titioners,  and  quibbling  away  their  duty  to  read  and  listen 


296  Ktviicw   or    THI:  MEXICO    WAK. 


and  consider  in  doubtful  disputations  whether  they  shall 
receive,  or,  receiving,  refuse  to  read  or  hear  the  complaints 
of  their  fellow-citizens  and  fellow-men  !"  In  a  letter  to 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  he  avowed  his  humiliation 
in  beholding  "  the  ignominious  transformation  of  the  peo 
ple  who  had  commenced  their  career  by  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  into  a  nation  of  slaveholders,  and  slave- 
breeders." 

Addressing  the  slaveholders  on  the  floor  of  Congress, 
he  said,  "  I  know  well  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  that  '  all  men  are  bora  free  and  equal/ 
is  held  at  the  South  as  incendiary  doctrine,  and  deserves 
lynching  —  that  the  Declaration  itself  is  a  farago  of  abstrac 
tions.  I  know  all  this  perfectly,  and  that  is  the  very  reason 
I  want  to  put  my  foot  upon  such  doctrine,  that  I  want  to 
drive  it  back  to  its  fountain  —  its  corrupt  fountain  —  and  pur 
sue  it,  until  it  is  made  to  disappear  from  this  land,  and  from 
the  world.  Sir,  this  philosophy  of  the  South,  has  done 
more  to  blacken  the  character  of  this  country  in  Europe, 
than  all  other  causes  put  together.  They  point  to  us  as  a 
nation  of  liars  and  hypocrites,  who  publish  to  the  world 
that  all  men  are  born  free  and  equal,  and  then  hold  a  large 
portion  of  our  own  population  in  bondage."  Again,  "As 
its  (slavery)  basis  rests  exclusively  upon  physical  force,  to 
physical  force  will  it  resort,  not  only  to  sustain  its  own 
institutions,  but  to  encroach  upon  the  institutions  of  free 
dom  elsewhere.  This  disposition  is  already  manifested  in 
many  ways  in  the  brutal  treatment  experienced  by  citizens 
of  the  free  States,  if  but  suspected  of  favoring  abolition 
in  the  slaveholding  jurisdictions,  in  the  insolvent  demands 
upon  the  free  States  to  deliver  up  their  citizens  for  alleged 
offences  against  the  slave  laws  —  in  the  conspiring  of  Ame 
rican  slaveholders  in  a  foreign  land  against  the  life  of  one 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 


297 


of  the  great  champions  of  human  liberty* — in  the  ruffian 
threats  of  assassination  addressed  to  members  of  Congress 
for  daring  to  present  your  petitions — in  the  surrender  of 
the  post-office  to  lynching  law — in  the  murder  of  Lovejoy 
— in  the  burning  of  Pennsylvania  Hall — in  Southern  com 
mercial  conventions  to  force  the  National  channels  of  trade 
from  North  to  South — in  Southern  railways  and  banking 
companies  combined  to  link  the  mammon  of  the  West,  to 
to  the  Moloch  of  the  South— and  in  the  strains  of  com 
mendation  upon  all  land-robbing  practices  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxons,  and  their  -virtuous  abhorrence  of  Custom-Houses, 
embellished  by  their  blackleg  revenue  and  punctuality  for 
their  debts  of  honor" 

Utterly  discarding  the  base  sentiment,  "  Our  country, 
right  or  wrong,"  he  denounced  the  foreign  policy  of  the 
administration,  in  resisting  the  claim  made  by  Great  Britain 
to  visit  vessels  bearing  the  national  flag,  and  suspected 
of  being  engaged  in  the  African  slave  trade,  to  ascertain 
whether  the  flag  was  not  fraudulently  assumed.  He  as 
serted  that  measures  were  systematically  pursued  or  pro 
jected  to  force  the  country  into  a  war  with  England,  for 
the  protection  of  the  slave  trade.  "  Under  the  pretext  of 
resisting  the  right  of  search,  the  most  false  principles 
have  been  advanced  as  the  law  of  nations.  Great  Britain 
has  never  claimed  the  right  to  search  American  vessels. 
No  such  thing — on  the  contrary,  she  has  explicitly  dis 
claimed  any  such  pretension,  and  that  to  the  whole  extent 
we  can  possibly  demand.  We  deny  to  her  the  right  to 
board  pirates  who  hoist  the  American  flag — yes,  to  search 
British  vessels,  too,  that  have  been  declared  pirates  by 
the  law  of  nations — pirates  by  the  law  of  Great  Britain — 
pirates  by  the  laws  of  the  United  States — that  is  the  de- 

*  In  reference  of  the  attempt  of  Mr.  Stevenson,  from  Virginia, 
and  Hamilton,  of  South  Carolina,  made  in  London  to  force  Danief 
O'Connell  into  a  duel. 


298  ICE  VIEW     UK     THE    .MEXICAN     WAR. 

mand  of  our  late  Minister  to  London.  Now,  bohind  all 
this  exceeding  zeal  against  the  right  of  search  is  the  ques 
tion  not  brought  to  view,  and  that  is,  the  support  and  per 
petuation  of  the  African  slave  trade.  That  is  the  real 
question  between  the  ministers  of  America  and  Great 
Britain — whether  slave-trading  pirates,  by  merely  hoisting 
the  American  flag,  shall  be  saved  from  capture.  I  must 
say,  that  if  it  be  true  that  the  interference  of  our  Minister 
in  France  (General  Cass)  was  the  occasion  of  the  refusal 
by  France  to  ratify  the  Quintuple  treaty  (for  the  suppres 
sion  of  the  African  slave  trade),  I  do  not  hold  that  pro* 
cedure  in  much  admiration;  it  conies  too  near  success  in 
doing  wrong." 

Now  it  should  be  recollected,  that  this  denial  of  ihe  right 
of  visitation,  and  the  interference  of  General  Cass,  were 
both  sustained  by  the  Whig  party,  through  Mr.  WEBSTER 
then  Secretary  of  State. 

Mr.  Adams  astounded  the  southern  members,  by  in 
sisting,  in  a  formal  argument,  that  in  case  of  war,  or  insur 
rection,  the  General  Government  had  a  discretionary 
power  to  manumit  the  slaves,  and  also  by  his  audacity  in 
asking  leave  to  propose  the  following  amendment  to  the 
Constitution,  to  be  submitted  by  Congress  to  the  several 
States,  viz.  :  "  From  and  after  the  4th  day  of  July,  1842, 
there  shall  be,  throughout  the  United  Slates,  no  hereditary 
slavery,  but  on  and  after  that  day  every  child  born  in  the 
United  States  shall  be/ra?." 

A  bill  having  been  brought  in,  giving  the  right  of  suf 
frage  "  to  all  free  white  males,"  of  the  age  of  twenty  • 
one  years,  and  who  had  resided  a  certain  time  within  the 
limits  of  Alexandria,  he  moved  to  strike  out  the  word 
white,  and  supported  his  motion  in  an  able  and  sarcastic 
speech.  He  a,sked  "  If  this  principle  of  universal  suffrage 
was  to  be  adopted,  admitting  paupers,  idiots,  lunatics,  and 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  299 

the  refuse  of  the  prisons,  why  a  man  whose  skin  is  not 
white,  but  who  performs  all  the  duties  of  a  good  citizen, 
a  good  husband,  a  good  father,  and  a  kind  neighbor, 
should  not  be  entitled  to  vote  as  well  as  a  white  man  ? 
I  ask  what  is  a  white  man  ?  Is  it  the  color  of  the  skin 
that  constitutes  a  white  man  ?  Then  there  are  twenty 
members  of  this  House  who  are  not  white  men  by  that 
criterion.  I  pledge  myself  to  bring  forward  a  hundred 
respectable  colored  men  of  this  city  with  complexions 
whiter  than  those  of  twenty  members  of  this  House. 
Would  you  then  say,  would  the  courts  say,  that  this 
should  be  settled  by  going  into  the  genealogy  of  the  per 
son  ?  In  this  country  it  is  a  strange  idea  to  look  into  a 
man's  genealogy  to  ascertain  whether  he  has  a  right  to 
vote.  Tell  me  why  you  insist  on  giving  this  privilege  to 
the  worst  of  your  own  color,  while  you  refuse  it  to  the 
best  of  those  who  have  a  portion  of  the  blood  of  anothei 
race  ?" 

The  southern  members  rejected  with  scorn  all  recogni 
tion  of  the  Republic  of  Hayti,  on  account  of  the  complex 
ion  of  its  citizens  ;  and  Mr.  Adams  incurred  their  indigna 
tion  by  zealously  maintaining  the  duty  and  policy  of 
forming  diplomatic  relations  with  it. 

In  1839,  between  thirty  and  forty  Africans,  recently 
imported  into  Havana,  on  their  way  from  that  port  to  the 
plantations  of  their  two  purchasers,  took  possession  of  the 
vessel,  and  arrived  with  their  captive  masters  in  our 
waters.  The  whole  sympathy  of  the  Government  and 
of  the  slaveholders  was  immediately  enlisted  in  behalf  of 
the  two  men,  who,  in  defiance  of  law  and  treaties,  had  ob 
tained  possession  of  these  Africans,  as  legally  entitled  to 
freedom  as  themselves,  and  who  had  attempted  to  avoid 
capture  by  British  cruizers  by  means  of  false  and  fraudu 
lent  Custom  House  passports.  The  case  was  brought 


300  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

into  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  and  Mr. 
Adams  volunteered  his  services  as  their  counsel.  He  em 
braced  the  opportunity  of  exposing  the  inhuman  subserv 
iency  of  the  Government  to  the  slaveholding  interest,  and 
obtained  a  judgment  in  behalf  of  the  freedom  of  the  un 
fortunate  Africans. 

The  reader  need  not  be  reminded  of  the  scorn  and 
detestation  in  which  abolitionists  at  this  time  were  held  at 
the  North  as  well  as  at  the  South,  nor  how  patriotic  were 
all  attempts  then  deemed  to  silence  them  by  insult  and 
violence.  One  of  the  most  despised  portions  of  these 
despised  people,  the  Massachusetts  Anti-Slavery  Society, 
at  a  season  of  high  public  excitement,  invited  Mr.  Adams 
to  attend  one  of  their  celebrations.  He  replied,  "  It  would 
give  me  great  pleasure  to  comply  with  the  invitation,"  and 
after  excusing  himself  on  account  of  want  of  health  and 
leisure,  added,  "  I  rejoice  that  the  defence  of  human  free 
dom  is  falling  into  younger  and  more  vigorous  hands. 
The  youthful  champions  of  the  rights  of  human  nature 
have  buckled,  and  are  buckling  on  their  armor,  and  the 
scourging  overseer,  and  the  lynching  lawyer,  and  the 
servile  sophist,  and  the  faithless  scribe,  and  the  priestly 
parasite,  will  vanish  before  them  like  Satan  touched  with 
the  spear  of  Ithuriel.  You  have  a  glorious  and  arduous 
career  before  you  ;  and  it  is  among  the  consolations  of  my 
last  days,  that  I  am  able  to  cheer  you  in  the  pursuit,  and 
exhort  you  to  be  stedfast  and  immoveable." 

But  the  crowning  crime  of  the  abolitionists,  was  their 
union  with  English  abolitionists  in  anti-slavery  conven 
tions  held  in  London. 

A  northern  member  of  Congress,  sent  under  his  frank  to 
Mr.  POLK,  then  Governor  of  Tennessee,  certain  proceed 
ings  of  the  "  World's  Convention."  The  Governor  re 
turned  an  insulting  answer,  concluding,  "  It  is  a  matter 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  tfOl 

of  sincere  regret  that  any  American  citizen  should  he 
guilty  of  such  HIGH  TREASON  to  the  first  principles  upon 
which  the  States  became  united."  Mr.  Polk  published 
his  epistle,  and  it  no  doubt  prepared  the  way  for  his  ele 
vation  to  the  Presidency.  In  May,  1843,  as  a  delegate 
to  an  Anti-Slavery  Convention  in  LONDON,  was  leaving 
Boston,  hu  received  the  following  lines  : 

"  My  dear  sir — I  have  only  time  to  say  God  bless  yon 
and  your  enterprize,  for  which  I  have  no  other  prayer  to 
make,  than  that  its  success  may  herald  my  nunc  dimittis. 

"  J.  Q.  ADAMS." 

When  Mr.  Polk  declared  it  to  be  high  treason  for  any 
American  to  countenance  these  foreign  Anti-Slavery  Con 
ventions,  he  little  anticipated,  that  he  should  hereafter 
deem  it  expedient,  officially  to  pronounce  the  writer  of 
such  a  note,  "  a  great  and  patriotic  citizen." 

We  have  already  noticed  Mr.  Adams's  strenuous  oppo 
sition  to  the  annexation  of  Texas,  and  his  stern  denuncia 
tion  of  the  policy  long  pursued  towards  Mexico,  and  we 
have  found  his  name  associated  with  the  little  band  who 
dared  to  vote  against  the  Mexican  war,  and  who,  in  deri 
sive  but  prophetic  language,  were  called  "  The  immortal 
fourteen." 

But  if  to  question  the  justice  of  the  war,  was  giving 
"aid  and  comfort"  to  the  enemy,  how  deep  the  treason 
while  the  war  was  waging,  to  refuse  in  aiding  its  prosecu 
tion  !  Yet  a  few  weeks  before  his  death,  Mr.  Adams 
voted  for  a  resolution  withdrawing  our  troops  from 
Mexico,  relinquishing  all  claims  for  the  expenses  of  the 
war,  and  establishing  the  desert  between  the  Nueces  and 
the  Rio  Grande  the  boundary  between  the  two  countries ; 
and  almost  the  last  vote  he  ever  gave,  was  for  an  amend 
ment  to  the  bill  raising  a  loan  of  sixteen  millions,  viz. : 

if  Provided  that  no  part  of  the  money  received  voider 
26 


302  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

the  authority  of  this  act  shall  be  applied  to  any  expenses 
that  shall  hereafter  be  incurred  by  the  prosecution  of  the 
war  with  Mexico." 

If  Mr.  Adams  shocked  the  slaveholders  by  the  freedom 
of  his  language,  he  was  no  less  regardless  of  the  sensi 
bilities  of  their  allies.  Irritated  by  their  subserviency, 
and  their  constant  endeavors  to  thwart  him,  he  exclaimed 
on  the  floor,  "  There  is  no  end  to  the  devices  and  inge 
nuity  of  the  servile  part  of  this  house,  for  the  purpose  of 
suppressing  the  right  of  petition.  I  do  not  mean  by  the 
servile  part  of  this  house,  the  slaveholding  part  of  it." 
He  asserted  "  Northern  subserviency  to  southern  dictation 
is  the  price  paid  by  a  northern  administration  (Mr.  Van 
Buren's)  for  southern  support.  The  people  of  the  north 
still  support,  by  their  suffrages,  the  men  who  have 
truckled  to  southern  domination.  I  believe  it  impossible 
that  this  total  subversion  of  every  principle  of  liberty 
should  be  much  longer  submitted  to  by  the  people  of  the 
free  States  of  this  Union.  If  they  choose  to  be  repre 
sented  by  slaves,  they  will  find  servility  enough  to  repre 
sent  and  betray  them."  On  another  occasion,  he  pro 
nounced  the  northern  Democrats  "  The  consistent  Swiss 
guards  of  southern  slavery."  Nor  was  his  notice  of  the 
northern  Whigs  much  more  nattering.  They  were  thus 
characterized  by  him :  "The  languid,  compromising  non- 
resistants  of  the  north,  afraid  of  answering  a  fool  accord 
ing  to  his  folly,  and  flinching  from  the  attitude  of  defiance 
flung* in  their  faces  by  the  bullying  threat  of  readiness  to 
meet  them  '  here  or  elsewhere.'  " 

He  was  as  fearless  in  his  assaults  upon  individuals,  as 
upon  classes.  Congressional  duelling  excited  his  especial 
abhorrence,  both  for  its  wickedness,  and  because,  as  he 
contended,  it  was  resorted  to  by  southern  members  for 
the  purpose  of  intimidating  northern  representatives.  In 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  303 

a  debate,  referring  to  the  subject,  lie  spoke  of  the  death 
of  a  northern  man  who  had  fallen  in  a  duel,  as  "a  de 
liberate  murder  committed  on  a  member  of  this  house," 
and  alluded  to  a  gentleman  present  who  had  acted  as  a 
second  in  this  duel,  and  was  supposed  to  have  instigated 
it,  as  a  man  having  come  into  that  hou-se  "  with  his  hands 
and  face  dripping  with  the  blood  of  murder,  the  blotches 
of  which  were  yet  hanging  upon  him." 

He  as  freely  condemned  what  he  thought  wrong  in  the 
character  and  conduct  of  his  country,  as  he  did  in  parties 
and  individuals.  On  the  floor  of  Congress  he  declared, 
"  You  make  and  break  treaties  with  the  Indian  tribes, 
whenever  either  to  make  or  break  treaties  with  them  hap 
pens  to  suit  the  purposes  of  the  President  and  a  majority 
of  both  houses  of  Congress."  Again — "  In  the  treatment 
of  the  African  and  native  American  races,  we  have  sub 
verted  the  maxims  and  degenerated  from  the  virtues  of 
our  fathers."  In  a  published  letter,  respecting  a  celebra 
tion  of  West  India  emancipation,  he  avowed  he  had  not 
taken  part  in  it,  "  from  shame  for  the  honor  and  good 
name  of  my  country,  whose  government  has  been  now,  for 
a  series  of  years,  pursuing  and  maturing  a  counteraction  of 
the  purpose  of  universal  emancipation,  and  organizing  an 
opposite  system  for  the  maintenance  and  perpetuation 
of  slavery  throughout  the  earth."  After  referring  to  va 
rious  disgraceful  features  in  the  conduct  of  the  Govern 
ment  and  people,  he  added,  "  0  my  friends,  I  have  no 
heart  to  join  in  the  festivity  on  the  1st  of  August,  the 
British  anniversary  of  disenthralled  humanity.  While  all 
this,  and  infinitely  more  than  I  could  tell,  but  that  I  would 
spare  the  blushes  of  my  country,  weigh  down  my  spirits 
with  the  uncertainty,  sinking  into  my  grave,  as  I  am, 
whether  she  is  doomed  to  be  numbered  with  the  first 


304  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

liberators  or  the  last  oppressors  of  the  race  of  immortal 
man." 

It  would  have  been  an  anomaly  in  the  history  of  hu 
man  nature,  if  a  public  man,  thus  outraging  almost  every 
popular  prejudice,  pouring  contempt  upon  political  mean 
ness  and  corruption,  spurning  the  commonly  received 
tests  of  patriotism,  and  hurling  defiance  at  all  the  dema 
gogues  of  the  day,  had  not  excited  against  himself  deep 
and  wide-spread  hostility.  Truth,  justice,  virtue,  and 
patriotism  all  forbid,  as  baseband  criminal,  the  suppression 
of  the  historical  fact  that,  for  years,  John  Quincy  Adams 
was  the  most  hated  man  in  the  American  Republic. 
To  the  Whig  party  he  was  an  encumbrance,  perpetually 
interrupting  the  desired  harmony  between  its  northern 
and  southern  sections,  by  introducing  the  topic  of  slavery? 
and  raising  questions  on  which  "  policy  "  required  the 
party  to  vote  against  him.  Scorning  the  control  of  party 
discipline  and  caucus  dictation,  he  pursued  his  own 
course,  without  asking  or  receiving  permission  from  the 
leaders.  At  the  organization  of  the  last  house  of  Repre 
sentatives  he  ever  attended,  he  dared  to  vote  against 
the  Whig  nominee  for  Clerk,  and  by  so  doing,  nearly  se 
cured  the  re-election  of  the  late  faithful  and  efficient,  but 
democratic  incumbent,  The  Whig  party  of  his  own 
State  did  not  deem  it  expedient  to  assume  the  responsi 
bility  of  his  "  fanaticism,"  by  returning  him  to  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States,  as  they  had  the  power  to  do ;  and 
the  Whig  presses  throughout  the  Union,  with  few  excep 
tions,  were  nearly  as  strenuous  in  condemning  his  con 
gressional  conduct,  as  were  his  political  opponents. 

It  can  readily  be  understood,  that  the  slaveholders 
looked  upon  him  as  an  incendiary  of  the  most  odious  as 
well  as  dangerous  description ;  while  the  demagogues  of 
every  name  and  party  were  zealous  in  manifesting  their 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  305 

patriotism,  by  pouring  obloquy  upon  a  man  at  once  so  dis 
tinguished  and  so  unpopular.  The  northern  Democrats 
especially,  were  careful  to  improve  the  opportunity  of 
testifying  their  devotion  to  the  cause  of  human  bondage, 
by  the  most  unmeasured  hostility  to  its  mighty  opponent. 
Said  the  Albany  Argus  (the  recognized  organ  of  the  New 
York  serviles),  "  How  discreditable  is  it  to  the  country, 
that  the  MASSACHUSETTS  MADMAN  is  permitted  not  only  to 
outrage  all  order  and  decorum  in  the  House,  but  to 
scatter  incendiary  evil  and  excitement  throughout  4he 
country." 

The  Richmond  Inquirer,  then  edited  by  the  same  per 
son  whom  Mr.  Polk  afterwards  selected  to  take  charge  of 
the  official  journal*  of  the  administration,  announced  that 
Mr.  Adams  was  considered  "  A  GENERAL  NUISANCE,  whom 
the  voice  of  the  House,  if  not  of  the  people,  must  here 
after  abate."  The  abatement  intended  was  expulsion 
from  Congress.  A  New  York  paper,  alluding  with  appro 
bation  to  this  hint  of  expulsion,  extended  it  to  the  few 
members  who  acted  with  Mr.  Adams,  and  remarked — 
"  But  we  are  apprehensive  there  is  not  enough  firmness 
or  patriotism  in  Congress  to  adopt  so  stern  and  decisive  a 
mode  of  rebuking  the  audacity  of  the  MISCREANT  TRAITORS." 

The  Charleston  Mercury,  the  leading  Journal  in  South 
Carolina,  in  reference  to  Mr.  Adam's  course  in  Congress, 
declared  (1837)  :  "Public  opinion  in  the  South,  would, 
now  we  are  sure  justify  an  immediate  resort  to  force  by 
the  southern  delegation,  and  even  on  the  floor  of  Congress, 
were  they  forthwith  to  SEIZE  AND  DRAG  FROM  THE  HALL 
any  man  who  dared  to  insult  them  as  that  eccentric  old 
showman,  John  Quincy  Adams,  has  dared  to  do." 

The  Washington  Globe,  the  acknowledged  organ  of 
the  Democratic  party  at  the  seat  of  Government,  spoko 
of  Mr.  Adams,  as  "  a  vulgar  old  man,  who  has  forfeited 
26* 


306  REVIEW    OF    THE,    MKXICAN    WAR. 

all  claim,  by  his  incorrigible  malevolence,  to  the  respect 
otherwise  due  tohis  age  and  station,"  and  declared  "  all 
his  zeal,  all  his  sympathies  are  against  his  country." 

At  a  public  dinner  in  Virginia,  the  company  drank  as  a 
toast :  "  John  Quincy  Adams — once  a  man,  twice  a  child, 
and  now  a  DEMON."  At  a  fourth  of  July  dinner  in  South 
Carolina,  the  following  toast  was  given  :  "  May  we  never 
want  a  hangman  to  prepare  a  halter  for  John  Quincy 
Adams."  The  company  not  only  drank  the  toast,  but 
accompanied  it  with  nine  cheers.  In  1842,  the  democracy 
of  Ohio,  having  the  control  of  the  Legislature,  availed 
itself  of  the  opportunity  of  making  an  acceptable  offer 
ing  at  the  shrine  of  slavery,  by  declaring  in  the  name  and 
by  the  authority  of  the  State  in  joint  resolution,  that, 
"  John  Quincy  Adams  had  subjected  himself  to  the 
merited  censure  and  reprehension  of  his  countrymen ;" 
and  "  that  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  owed  it  to  themselves,  to  stamp  his  course  and 
conduct  with  the  severest  marks  of  its  indignant  disappro 
bation  and  censure." 

But  the  hatred  felt  against  Mr.  Adams,  was  not  mani 
fested  only  in  indecent  toasts,  newspaper  scurrility,  and 
democratic  obsequiousness,  to  the  slaveholders.  Mr. 
Adams  in  a  speech  in  the  House  (January  21st,  1839J, 
observed  :  "  1  have  received  letters  from  various  quarters 
of  the  country,  with  post-marks  showing  that  they  have 
been  mailed  at  places  very  distant  from  each  other,  con 
taining  many  of  them  positive  threats  of  assassination  ; 
others  of  them  filled  with  friendly  advice,  assuring  me, 
that  if  I  continued  to  present  petitions  similar  to  those  I 
have  heretofore  presented  in  this  House,  my  days  are 
numbered,  and  I  never  shall  survive  the  present  session." 

It  was,  however,  on  the  floor  of  Congress,  that  the 
malignity  towards  him,  was  excited  to  its  greatest  inten- 


REVI'EW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  307 

sity.  In  a  speech  to  his  constituents  (1842),  alluding  to 
the  charge  against  him  of  using  harsh  language,  he 
remarked  :  "  So  far  as  any  friend  or  impartial  person  may 
have  thought  me  blameable  in  that  respect,  I  would  ask 
him  to  consider  that  the  adversaries  with  whom  I  have 
had  to  contend  face  to  face,  have  pursued  me  with  a  vio 
lence  and  rancor  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  this 
country.  That  twice  in  the  space  of  five  years,  I  have 
for  the  single  offence,  of  persisting  to  assert  the  right  of 
the  people  to  petition,  and  the  freedom  of  speech  and  of 
the  press,  been  dragged  before  the  House  in  which  I  was 
your  Representative,  as  a  culprit  to  be  censured  or 
expelled  ;  and  when,  after  ten  days  of  the  most  unrelent 
ing  persecution,  I  have  been  barely  released  from  its 
fury,  I  have  been  still  denounced  as  the  cause  of  the 
waste  of  time  consumed  by  my  persecutors  in  their 
struggle  to  accomplish  my  ruin.  On  both  occasions,  the 
fury  of  the  whole  mass  of  Southern  slavery  was  concen 
trated  over  my  head,  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  breaking 
down  whatever  of  good  name  I  had  to  leave  as  an  inhe 
ritance  to  my  children  ;  in  order  that  my  signal  ruin  might 
strike  terror  to  the  heart  of  your  every  other  Representa 
tive,  and  leave  slavery  the  lord  of  the  ascendant  for  all 
future  time  throughout  the  North  American  Union." 

For  the  purpose  of  insult,  a  petition  professing  to  be 
from  slaves,  asking  for  his  expulsion,  was  sent  to  him  by 
mail  for  presentation.  On  the  6th  February,  1837,  he 
informed  the  Speaker,  that  he  had  in  his  possession  a  pe 
tition  purporting  to  come  from  slaves,  and  inquired 
whether  it  came  within  the  gag-rule,  excluding  Anti- 
slavery  petitions  ?  Immediately,  cries  of  "  expel  him," 
"  expel  him,"  were  heard  throughout  the  hall,  and  Mr. 
Thompson  from  South  Carolina,  moved  :  "  That  the  Hon. 
John  Quincy  Adams,  by  the  attempt  just  made  by  him  to 


308  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

introduce  a  petition  purporting  on  its  face  to  be  from 
slaves,  has  been  guilty  of  a  gross  disrespect  to  the  House, 
and  that  he  be  instantly  brought  to  the  bar  to  receive  the 
severest  censure  of  the  Speaker."  In  his  speech  on  the 
occasion,  he  observed  :  "If  the  juries  of  this  District 
have,  as  I  doubt  not  they  have,  proper  intelligence  and 
spirit,  he  may  yet  be  made  amenable  to  another  tribunal, 
and  we  may  yet  see  an  incendiary  brought  to  condign  pun 
ishment" 

After  three  day's  discussion,  the  attempt  to  degrade 
Mr.  Adams  for  asking  a  question,  being  found  impracti 
cable,  was  abandoned. 

In  1842,  Mr.  Adams  was  again  insulted  by  a  petition 
from  Georgia,  forwarded  to  him  through  the  mail,  asking 
for  his  removal  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  For 
eign  Relations,  on  account  of  his  monomania.  He  pre 
sented  it  to  the  House,  and  Mr.  Hopkins  of  Virginia,  im 
mediately  moved  its  reference  to  the  committee,  with  in 
structions  to  choose  another  Chairman.  Mr.  Adams 
claimed  to  be  heard  in  his  defence,  declaring  that  the 
feeling  against  him  was  "  a  slave-holding,  slave -trading,  and 
slave -breeding  feeling."  He  was  not  allowed  to  proceed 
in  his  defence,  and  the  motion  of  Mr.  Hopkins  was 
dropped.  The  brief  calm  that  ensued,  was  but  the  pre 
cursor  of  a  tempest ;  for,  three  days  after,  Mr.  Adams 
presented  a  petition,  praying  Congress  to  take  measures 
for  dissolving  the  Union  ;  and  moved  its  reference  to 
a  committee,  with  instructions  to  report  reasons  why  the 
prayer  of  the  petition  should  not  be  granted. 

The  petition  itself  was  brief,  containing  no  allusion  to 
slavery,  and  was,  in  fact,  an  exact  copy  of  one  that  had 
some  years  before,  been  got  up  by  certain  of  the  South 
Carolina  nullifiers."*  The.  true  paternity  of  the  petition 

*  The  reasons  assigned  in  the  petition  were  :  "  First,  becauee 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  309 

was  at  the  time  unknown  to  the  House,  and  the  Southern 
members,  regarding  it  only  in  the  light  of  an  abolition 
document,  seized  the  occasion,  to  bring  disgrace  upon  Mr. 
Adams,  under  the  pretext  of  their  own  extreme  devotion 
to  the  Union.  Mr.  Gilmer  of  Virginia,  and  lately  Gover 
nor  of  the  State,  immediately  offered  a  resolution  declar 
ing  "  that  in  presenting  to  the  consideration  of  the  House, 
a  petition  for  the  dissolution  of  the  Union,  the  member 
from  Massachusetts,  has  justly  incurred  the  censure  of 
this  House."  In  his  speech  he  avowed  he  was  endeav 
oring  to  stop  the  music  of  him,  who, 

"  In  the  space  of  one  revolving  moon 
Was  statesman,  poet,  fiddler,  and  buffoon." 

That  evening  between  forty  and  fifty  of  the  slaveholding 
members  met  in  council  to  consider  how  they  should 
proceed.  Mr.  Marshall,  of  Kentucky,  made  the  meeting 
acquainted  with  the  course  he  proposed  taking  in  the 
morning,  a  course  more  decided  than  Mr.  Gilmer's  resolu 
tion.  Accordingly  the  next  morning  he  introduced  a  sub 
stitute  for  the  resolution  before  the  House,  consisting  of  a 
long  preamble,  setting  forth  the  perjury  and  treason  to 
which  Congress  was  invited  by  the  Petition ;  together 
with  a  series  of  resolutions,  concluding  with,  "  Resolved, 
That  the  aforesaid  John  Quincy  Adams,  for  this  insult, 
the  first  of  the  kind  ever  offered  to  the  Government,  and 
for  the  wound  he  has  permitted  to  be  aimed  through  his 
instrumentality  at  the  Constitution  and  existence  of  his 
country,  the  peace,  security  and  liberty  of  the  people 
of  these  States,  might  well  be  held  to  merit  expulsion 

no  union  can  he  agreeable  or  permanent,  which  does  not  present 
prospects  of  reciprocal  benefits.  Second,  because  a  vast  pro 
portion  of  the  resources  of  one  section  of  the  Union,  is  annually 
drained  to  sustain  the  views  and  course  of  another  section. 
Third,  because,  judging  from  the  history  of  past  nations,  that 
union,  if  persisted  in,  in  the  present  course  of  things,  will  cer 
tainly  overwhelm  the  whole  nation  in  utter  destruction." 


310  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

from  the  National  Councils,  and  the  House  deem  it  an  act 
of  grace  and  mercy  when  they  only  inflict  upon  him  their 
severest  censures  for  conduct  so  utterly  unworthy  of  his 
own  past  relations  to  the  State,  and  his  present  position  : 
This  they  hereby  do,  for  the  maintenance  of  their  own 
purity  and  dignity ;  for  the  rest,  they  turn  him  over  to 
his  own  conscience,  and  the  indignation  of  all  true  Ameri 
can  citizens"  On  the  reading  of  the  resolutions,  there  was 
a  burst  of  applause  from  the  Galleries  and  the  House,  so 
much  so,  that  the  Speaker  interfered  to  repress  it. 

The  malignity  of  this  assault  upon  Mr.  Adams  was 
equalled  only  by  its  absurdity  and  its  impudence.  In  pre 
senting  the  petition  he  had  expressly  declared  his  disap 
probation  of  its  object.  Congress  being  authorized  by  the 
Constitution  to  propose  unlimited  alterations  in  that  instru 
ment,  every  citizen  has  a  constitutional  right  to  ask  them 
to  propose  any  alteration  he  desires,  although  it  may  vir 
tually  dissolve  the  Confederacy  ;  and  it  is,  moreover,  pre 
posterous  to  maintain  that  a  union  formed  by  consent  of 
the  partners,  cannot  by  the  same  consent  be  severed.  It 
must  also  be  recollected  that  the  assault  proceeded  from 
a  sectional  party,  that  for  a  long  series  of  years,  has  been 
threatening  to  dissolve  the  Union,  if  not  permitted  to 
govern  it.  Instead  of  instantly  spurning  this  ridiculous 
and  wicked  persecution,  the  House,  by  a  formal  vote  of 
118  to  75,*  resolved  to  consider  the  charges  against  Mr. 
Adams.  He  was  thereupon  put  on  trial,  and  Mr.  Mar 
shall  and  Mr.  Wise  of  Virginia,  acted  as  the  leading 
Counsel  of  the  prosecution.  The  latter  acquitted  the  ac 
cused  of  insanity,  and  avowed  his  conviction  that  {l  he  was 
more  wicked  than  weak  ;"  but  at  the  same  time  pro 
nounced  him  "  politically  dead — dead  as  Burr — dead  as 
Arnold.  The  people  would  look  upon  him  with  wonder, 

*  Only  two  northern  Democrats  voted  in  the  negative ! 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  311 

would  shudder  and  retire,"  The  dead  culprit,  however, 
evinced  most  astonishing  vitality.  The  accused  became 
the  accuser ;  his  very  persecution  was  proof  of  a  conspi 
racy  against  the  liberties  of  the  North  ;  and,  abandoning 
the  defence  of  himself,  he  arraigned  the  slave-holders  at 
the  bar  of  the  nation  for  endeavoring  to  destroy  the  right 
of  Habeas  Corpus,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury,  the  freedom 
of  the  Post  Office,  the  liberty  of  speech,  of  the  press,  and 
of  petition,  and  in  short,  to  destroy  all  the  constitutional 
rights  of  the  North  adverse  to  human  bondage — and  that 
for  the  purpose  of  effecting  these  outrages,  they  had 
formed  a  coalition  with  the  northern  Democrats — that 
if  the  rights  of  the  North  could  not  be  otherwise  pro 
tected,  the  petitioners  had  acted  properly,  in  asking  for  a 
dissolution  of  the  Union. 

The  public  watched  with  intense  interest  the  progress 
of  this  momentous  trial,  and  it  was  quickly  perceived  on 
which  side  victory  was  inclining.  Mr.  Gilmer,  anxious  to 
arrest  a  process  from  which  the  slave  interest  was  suffer 
ing  so  severely,  proposed  a  compromise — a  nolle  prosequi 
should  be  entered,  provided  the  defendant  would  with 
draw  the  petition  he  had  presented.  The  proposition  met 
with  a  positive  and  indignant  refusal.  Mr.  Adams  de 
clared  he  would  not,  by  withdrawing  the  petition,  sanction 
the  suppression  of  the  right  of  petition,  which  was  the 
real  object  of  the  prosecution ;  he  had  done  only  his  duty, 
he  defied  the  House,  and  spurned  its  proffered  mercy. 
The  trial  continued  to  the  7th  day,  when,  on  motion  of  a 
southern  member,  all  proceedings  were  discontinued.* 

*  Twenty -five  of  the  southern  members,  and  all  the  northern 
Whigs  united  in  this  vote ;  but  the  whole  delegation  of  the 
northern  democracy,  with  the  exception  of  six,  refused  to  un 
bind  the  victim  whom  they  were  anxious  to  offer  a  sacrifice  on 
the  altar  of  slavery,  as  an  earnest  and  proof  of  their  own  fealty. 
Messrs.  Thompson,  Wise,  and  Gilmer,  who  had  distinguished 
themselves  by  heaping  obloquy  upon  Mr.  Ada-ms,  wcre.honored 


312  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

The  next  day  a  new  insult  was  offered  to  Mr.  Adams 
All  the  southern  members  of  the  Committee  of  Foreign 
Relations,  four  in  number,  including  Messrs.  Gilmer  and 
Hunter,  of  Virginia,  and  one  northern  "  servile,"  resigned 
their  seats,  avowing  that  they  could  not  condescend  any 
longer  to  be  associated  with  their  Chairman.  The  Speaker 
appointed  five  southern  gentlemen  to  fill  the  vacancies, 
and,  of  these,  three,  including  Mr.  Holmes,  of  vSouth  Caro 
lina,  refused  the  appointment — Mr.  Holmes  expressly  de 
claring,  in  a  letter  to  the  Speaker,  his  repugnance  to  serve 
with  Mr.  Adams.  Thus  no  less  than  eight  members  of 
the  House  professed  to  think  it  derogatory  to  their  dignity 
to  sit  in  the  same  Committee  with  John  Quincy  Adams. 
The  object  was  to  compel  him  to  resign,  or  the  House  to 
remove  him. 

But  this  was  the  last  spasm  of  impotent  malice.  From 
the  commencement  of  his  trial  his  reputation  rose  in  public 
estimation,  and  it  continued  to  rise,  till  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  it  had  reached  an  elevation  never  surpassed  by  that 
of  any  man  on  the  American  Continent,  with  the  single 
exception  of  WASHINGTON.  The  astonishing  popularity 
of  this  lately  defamed  and  persecuted  man,  is  evinced  by 
the  strange  and  extraordinary  praises  it  extorted  from 
politicians  of  every  description.  On  the  announcement 
of  his  death,  prominent  men  on  the  floor  of  Congress 
seized  the  occasion  to  make  speeches  in  his  honor.  Among 
the  eulogists  were  numbered  no  less  than  three  gentlemen 
from  the  South.  The  speeches  were,  by  order  of  the 
House,  published  in  a  pamphlet,  and  of  this  20,000  copies, 
adorned  with  a  portrait  of  the  deceased,  and  a  copy  of  his 
autograph,  were  distributed  at  public  expense. 

A  panegyric  on  Napoleon,   from  which  all  allusion  to 

with  important  appointments,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  con 
sent  of  a  Whig  Senate,  the  two  former  to  foreign  missions,  and 
the  latter  to  the  post  of  Secretary  of  the  Navy 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  313 

his  military  achievements  should  be  excluded,  would  be 
regarded  as  a  unique  performance,  yet  it  would  find  its 
counterpart  in  these  Congressional  oraisons  funebres.  In 
these  the  reader  is  told,  in  general  terms,  of  the  talents, 
virtue,  and  patriotism  of  the  deceased  ;  but  not  a  hint  is 
given  of  that  course  of  conduct  which  in  fact  secured  for 
him  these  very  eulogies.  This  Congressional  monument 
raised  to  the  honor  of  Adams,  gives  no  intimation  that  he 
was  the  champion  of  constitutional  liberty,  the  restorer  of 
the  right  of  petition,  the  indomitable  foe  of  human  bond 
age.  No  allusion  is  made  to  his  terrible  conflicts  and  his 

O 

glorious  triumphs.  Not  a  word  discloses,  that  a  slave 
ever  breathed  on  the  soil  of  America ;  that  a  slavebolding 
Republic  had  been  added  to  the  "  area  of  freedom,"  or 
that  a  war  was  then  raging,  which  Adams  had  denounced 
as  waged  for  the  extension  of  slavery,  and  from  which  he 
had  voted  to  withhold  supplies.  Some  of  the  speakers 
were  minutely  accurate  in  specifying  the  dates  of  Mr. 
Adams's  appointments  in  former  times,  but  all  were  mar 
vellously  oblivious  of  his  recent  services.  One  gentleman, 
preferring  fiction  to  truth,  favored  the  House  with  a  beau 
tiful  and  touching  romance.  Said  Mr.  McDowell,  of  Vir 
ginia — "  Xo  human  being  ever  entered  this  Hall,  without 
turning  habitually  and  with  heartfelt  deference  first  to  him, 
and  few  ever  left  it,  without  pausing  as  they  went,  to  pour 
out  blessings  upon  that  spirit  of  consecration  to  the  coun 
try,  which  brought  and  kept  him  there."  Had  Messrs. 
Gilmer,  Hopkins,  Hunter,  and  Wise  been  in  their  seats, 
they  might  possibly  have  dissented  from  the  accuracy  of 
the  picture  drawn  by  their  colleague,  and  disclaimed  for 
themselves  the  feelings  and  the  acts  so  eloquently  ascribed 
to  all.  But  judging  from  the  Lethean  spirit  in  which  the 
faculties  of  the  speakers  were  apparently  drowned,  it  is 
more  probable,  that  these  gentlemen,  far  from  contradict- 
27 


314  .RF.ViKW     OJ-     T1IK    MEXICAN     WAR. 

ing  Mr.  McDowell,  would  have  testified  to  the  truth  of  his 
statement.  Mr.  Holmes,  of  South  Carolina,  was  another 
of  the  eulogists.  He  lamented  that  death  had  taken  from 
among  them  "the  gravest,  wisest,  most  revered  head'7— 
one  "  adorned  with  virtue,  learning,  and  truth ;"  and  he 
called  him  "  the  Patriot  Father,  and  the  Patriot  Sage." 
It  did  not,  perhaps,  occur  to  this  gentleman,  that  as  a  few 
years  before  he  disdainfully  refused  to  be  associated  with 
this  "  Patriot  Father,  and  Patriot  Sage/'  in  the  Commit 
tee  of  Foreign  Relations,  it  might  be  interesting  to  the 
public  to  know,  how  recently,  and  by  what  means  he  had 
discovered,  that  his  was  "  the  gravest,  wisest,  and  most 
revered  head"  in  Congress.  This  same  gentleman  (Mr. 
Isaac  E.  Holmes),  as  representing  the  veneration  felt  by 
South  Carolina  for  the  great  champion  of  human  lights, 
and  her  grief  for  his  death,  followed  his  remains  from  the 
city  of  Washington  to  their  final  resting-place  in  Massa 
chusetts  !  Having  eulogized  the  great  Abolitionist,  and 
paid  the  last  honor  to  his  memory,  Mr.  Holmes  returned 
to  Congress  wrhere,  while  laboring  to  extend  slavery  to 
the  Pacific,  he  pronounced  the  emphatic  words,  "  I  hold 
it  (slavery)  to  be  the  greatest  blessing  that  God  ever 
conferred  upon  man.v 

To  no  member  of  Congress  did  the  charge  of  giving 
"  aid  and  comfort"  to  the  enemy  apply  with  more  force 
than  to  Mr.  Adams ;  yet  Mr.  Polk,  in  an  official  order,  de 
clared  him  to  be  "  a  great  and  patriotic  citizen  ;"  and  the 
official  journal,  robed  in  mourning,  eulogized,  as  the  "illus 
trious  and  venerable  patriot  and  statesman,"  the  very  man 
who  the  editor  had  formerly  affirmed  was  considered  "  a 
general  nuisance." 

Of  course  the  whole  press,  of  all  parties  and  shades  of 
party,  was  vocal  in  praise  of  the  departed  patriot ;  and  one 
of  the  most  profligate  of  th<>  fraternity,  who  had  ever 


REVIEW  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAR.         315 

thrown  contempt  upon  all  the  objects  most  dear  to  his 
heart,  thought  it  expedient  to  hold  the  following  language  : 
"  Mr.  Adams  on  all  occasions  we  believe,  has  been  open, 
pure,  and  uncontaminated,  as  single-hearted  as  a  child,  or 
an  angel." 

American  citizens  in  Great  Britain,  were  publicly  in 
vited  by  the  American  Minister,  lately  engaged  in  con 
ducting  the  Mexican  war  as  one  of  Mr.  Folk's  cabinet,  to 
pay  honors  to  the  memory  of  John  Quincy  Adams  :  "A 
patriot,  always  loving  his  country  above  all  lands  of  the 
earth,"  and  this  notwithstanding  he  was  "  a  Mexican 
Whig."  Public  honors  were  paid  to  him  even  by  the 
army  in  Mexico,  although,  if  the  assertions  of  some  of  its 
officers  were  true,  he  was  a  "  knave"  and  a  "  traitor  at 
heart." 

A  committee  from  the  House  of  Representatives,  of  one 
from  each  State,  attended  the  corpse  from  the  capitol  in 
Washington  to  the  tomb  in  Quincy.  The  funeral  cortege 
in  its  progress,  was  everywhere  met  by  large  concourses 
of  citizens,  municipal  officers,  and  detachments  of  militia. 
The  whole  American  people,  as  with  one  voice,  acknow 
ledged  and  deplored  the  departure  of  a  great  and  virtuous 
patriot. 

When  it  is  recollected  that  Mr.  Adams  had  changed  no 
one  of  the  many  opinions  that  had  exposed  him  to  odium, 
that  in  no  degree  had  he  departed  from  that  straight-for 
ward  course,  which  had  so  frequently  brought  him  into 
violent  collision  with  the  Democrats  of  the  North  and  the 
slaveholders  of  the  South — and  that  in  his  last  days  he  had 
outraged  popular  patriotism  by  opposing  an  existing  war, 
and  attempting  to  cut  off  supplies  from  our  victorious 
armies — surely  the  revulsion  of  public  opinion  in  his  favor 
is  marvellous  and  unparalleled. 

Whence  came  it  that  the  same  unchanged,  inflexible,  and 


316  REVIEW     OK     THE    MEXICAN     VVAK, 

dauntless  man,  scorning  and  defying  public  opinion,  and 
scorning  and  defying  it  to  his  last  breath — and  who  but 
lately  was  the  object  of  such  general  hatred,  that  the 
representatives  of  the  people  spent  a  week  in  laboring  to 
consign  him  "to  the  indignation  of  all  true  American 
citizens" — acquired  such  wonderful  popularity,  that  rival 
politicians  hurried  to  strew  flowers  upon  his  grave,  and  to 
let  all  the  world  know  how  very  much  they  loved  and 
admired  him.  The  cause  is  to  be  found,  first,  in  the  entire 
confidence  of  the  PEOPLE  in  his  integrity,  and  their  admi 
ration  of  his  talents  and  moral  courage ;  and  secondly,  in 
the  deference  paid  by  politicians  to  public  opinion  "  right 
or  wrong." 

The  magnificent  spectacle  he  exhibited  when  alone,  un 
aided,  and  with  but  little  sympathy  he  received  and 
gloriously  repelled  the  combined  assault  of  the  Northern 
Democracy  and  the  slave  interest,  won  for  him  the  hearts 
of  the  common  people.*  They  looked  upon  him  as  a 
moral  phenomenon — a  public  man  who  never  flattered 
but  often  censured  them — a  politician  who  consulted  duty 
and  not  "  policy" — who  feared  God  and  not  man — who 
talked  as  he  voted,  and  voted  as  he  talked — who  went 
with  his  country  and  party  when  right,  and  against  them 
when  wrong — who  was  bold  enough  to  be  honest,  and 
honest  enough  to  be  bold.  This  feeling  in  the  community 
soon  displayed  itself.  The  year  after  his  trial,  he  travelled 
from  Boston  to  Cincinnati,  and  his  journey  was  a  trium 
phal  progress.  Even  in  the  slave  states,  the  tide  had 
turned,  and  being  expected  at  Wheeling,  a  crowd  assem- 

*  The  folio-wing  extract  from  a  Pittsburgh  paper  of  1843, 
affords  a  striking  illustration  of  this  remark:  "  As  a  token  of 
respect  for  Mr.  Adams,  all  the  works  in  the  city  were  closed 
yesterday,  that  the  working  men  might  have  a  chance  to  bid  him 
welcome.  The  silence  of  the  engines,  the  machinery,  and  the 
workman's  tools  was  a  mightier  tribute  to  Mr.  Adams,  than  the 
roar  of  cannon,  the  strains  of  music,  or  the  eloquent  address," 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  317 

bled,  not  to  insult,  but  to  do  him  honor.  The  brave, 
frank,  honest  opponent  was  regarded  with  a  respect  never 
felt  by  the  slaveholder  for  the  fawning  mercenary  of  the 
North.  Mr.  Adams  had  become  the  man  of  the  PEOPLE, 
and  was  revered  and  beloved  by  them  as  their  champion, 
the  advocate  of  their  rights.  His  great  and  acknowledged 
popularity,  at  length  secured  for  him  respectful  treatment 
on  the  floor  of  Congress ;  and  when  the  whole  nation  de 
plored  his  death,  politicians  of  every  name,  and  from 
every  section  of  the  country,  deemed  it  advisable  to  unite 
in  building  his  tomb. 

The  facts  which  have  now  been  stated  respecting  Mr. 
Adams,  however  interesting  in  themselves,  would  have 
found  no  place  in  these  pages,  did  they  not  illustrate  some 
great  truths,  having  a  direct  and  important  bearing  on 
many  of  the  sentiments  advanced  in  the  present  work. 
They  reiterate  the  lesson  long  since  taught,  of  the  utter 
worthlessness  of  public  opinion  as  a  standard  of  right  and 
wrong.  The  demoniac  cries,  "  Crucify  him,  crucify  him  !" 
were  preceded  by  "  Hosannas  to  the  Son  of  David  ;"  and 
the  revulsion  of  feeling  we  have  been  considering  shows 
that  human  nature  is  the  same  now  as  in  the  first  century. 
Multitudes  .who,  in  1848,  did  reverence  to  the  "Patriot 
Father  and  the  Patriot  Sage,"  would  have  rejoiced  ten 
years  before  to  have  caught  him  in  the  slave  region. 

We  are  taught  in  a  most  impressive  manner,  how  ex 
ceedingly  destitute  are  many  of  our  public  men  of  inde 
pendent  feelings  and  opinions.  Whether  Adams  was  a 
"  miscreant  traitor"  or  "  a  great  and  patriotic  citizen"  was 
a  question  to  be  determined,  not  by  bringing  his  conduct 
to  the  test  of  any  moral  standard,  but  by  the  present 
feelings  of  the  multitude.  When  he  was  supposed  to  be 
unpopular,  no  vituperation  was  too  coarse — when  known 
27* 


318  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

to  be  very  popular,  no  praise  was  too  gross,  although 
ridiculously  false. 

The  American  people  have  by  acclamation  adjudged 
John  Quincy  Adams  a  PATRIOT,  a  judgment  from  which 
not  one  politician  of  any  name  has  dared  to  appeal.  This 
judgment  sets  aside,  condemns,  and  repudiates  almost 
every  test  of  patriotism  prescribed  by  the  demagogues  of 
the  day.  It  has  now  been  decided  by  a  tribunal  which 
these  men  admit  to  be  infallible,  that  a  man  may  be  a  pat 
riot,  nay,  an  "  illustrious  patriot"  according  to  the  official 
gazette,  who  openly  repudiates  the  sentiment,  "  our  coun 
try,  right  or  wrong"* — who  on  a  question  of  international 
law,  sides  with  a  foreign  government  against  his  own — who 
gives  "  aid  and  comfort"  to  the  enemy  by  denouncing  as 
unjust  the  war  waged  against  him,  and  by  striving  to  with 
hold  supplies  from  the  army  sent  to  fight  him — who 
mourns  over  the  degeneracy  of  his  country  and  doubts 
whether  she  is  to  be  numbered  "  among  the  first  liberators, 
or  the  last  oppressors  of  the  race  of  immortal  man" — who, 
notwithstanding  all  "  the  compromises  of  the  Constitution," 
denounces  human  bondage  as  a  crime  against  God,  and 
proposes  so  to  change  the  Constitution  as  to  effect  the  im 
mediate  abolition  of  hereditary  slavery  throughout  the 
American  Confederacy,  and  pouring  contempt  upon  the 
lying  Democracy  of  the  day,  claims  for  the  black  man 
the  same  rights  of  suffrage  that  are  accorded  to  his  white 
fellow-citizen. 

Such  is  the  character  of  a  PATRIOT,  as  established  by 
the  latest  decision  of  the  American  public  ;  a  decision  in 
which  every  member  of  the  vast  tribunal,  from  Mr.  Polk 

*  In  some  verses  written  by  Mr.  Adams,  shortly  before  hia 
death,  and  entitled  "  Congress,  slavery,  and  an  unjust  war,"  aro 
these  lines — 

"  And  say  not  thou,  '  My  country,  right  or  wrong,' 
Nor  shed  thy  blood  for  an  unhallowed  cause." 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  319 

down  to  the  humblest  caterer  for  war  and  glory,  has  con 
curred.  It  is,  indeed,  a  decision  which  in  its  application  to 
others,  will  be  over-ruled,  whenever  "  policy  "  or  passion 
may  require  its  abrogation  ;  but  it  is  nevertheless  of  vast 
importance.  It  has  reversed  many  corrupt  judgments 
previously  given  ;  it  will  cheer  and  encourage  many  weak- 
hearted  patriots,  and  it  may  hint  to  some  politicians,  that 
it  is  possible  to  acquire  popularity  by  adhering  to  duty, 
as  well  as  by  listening  to  the  suggestions  of  "  policy." 

We  have  seen  Mr.  Adams,  although  constantly  occu 
pied  in  public  life,  bursting  at  pleasure  the  bonds  of 
party,  outraging  public  opinion,  and  apparently  courting 
defeat  and  odium — 

"  Among  innumerable  false,  unmoved- 
Unshaken,  unseduced,  unterrified, 
His  loyalty  he  kept,  his  love,  his  zeal— 
Nor  number,  nor  example  with  him  wrought 
To  swerve  from  truth,  or  change  his  constant  mind." 

Surely  there  must  have  been  some  potent  principle  of 
action  which  impelled  him  to  pursue  a  path  so  diverg 
ent  from  those  usually  selected  by  political  aspirants, 
one  to  all  appearance  leading  him  far  from  popular  ap 
plause,  and  yet  in  the  end  conducting  him  to  the  very 
pinnacle  of  fame.  There  was  such  a  principle,  and  it 
is  shadowed  forth  in  the  moral  with  which  Mr.  M'Dowell 
"  adorned  his  tale."  "  His  life,"  said  the  Virginia  eulo 
gist,  "  has  been  a  continuous  and  beautiful  illustration  of 
the  great  truth,  that  while  the  fear  of  man  is  the  con 
summation  of  all  folly,  the  fear  of  God  is  the  beginning 
of  wisdom."  Unhappy  is  it  for  our  country,  that  the  re 
verse  of  this  truth  forms  the  maxim,  by  which  so  many 
of  our  public  men  apparently  govern  their  conduct.  But 
what  was  the  secret  of  the  great  strength  of  this  moral 


320'  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR., 

Sampson  ?  Since  his  death,  certain  letters  to  his  son 
have  been  given  to  the  press,  and  in  these  we  find  an 
answer  to  the  inquiry.  It  appears,  that  while  at  the 
court  of  St.  Petersburg,  in  1811,  he  commenced  a  series 
of  letters  to  his  absent  child,  on  the  study  of  the  Bible  — 
"  the  Divine  revelation,"  as  he  called  it.  In  these  he 
remarks,  "  I  have  myself,  for  many  years,  made  it  a  prac 
tice  to  read  through  the  Bible  once  every  year.  I  have 
always  endeavored  to  read  it  with  the  same  spirit  and 
temper  of  mind  which  I  now  recommend  to  you  ;  that  is, 
with  the  intention  and  desire  that  it  may  contribute  to 
my  advancement  in  wisdom  and  virtue.  My  custom  is,  to 
read  four  or  five  chapters  every  morning,  immediately 
after  rising  from  my  bed.  It  employs  about  half  an  hour 
of  my  time,  and  seems  to  me  the  most  suitable  manner  of 
beginning  the  day."  The  following  advice  to  his  son 
seems  both  indicative  of  his  own  future  course,  and  pro 
phetic  of  its  glorious  termination  : — "  Never  give  way  to 
the  pushes  of  impudence,  wrong-headiness,  or  intracta 
bility,  which  would  lead  or  draw  you  a^ide  from  the  dic 
tates  of  your  own  conscience  and  your  own  sense  of  right. 
Till  you  die,  let  not  your  integrity  depart  from  you. 
Build  your  house  upon  the  rock,  and  then  let  the  rains 
descend,  and  the  flood  come,  and  the  winds  blow,  and 
beat  upon  that  house,  it  shall  not  fall.  So  promises  your 
blessed  Lord  and  Master."  In  a  most  wonderful  manner 
was  this  promise  fulfilled  \i  his  own  case,  even  in  the 
present  world.  But  there  is  a  day  approaching,  when 
the  secrets  of  all  hearts  shall  be  laid  open,  and  when  every 
man  shall  come  to  judgment.  Then  will  those  who  have 
in  this  life  pursued  expediency  in  preference  to  duty, 
learn,  when  too  late,  that  "  the  wisdom  of  this  world  is 
foolishness  with  God." 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  321 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

WAR,    AND    THE    MEANS    OF    PREVENTION. 

WE  have  endeavored  to  give  the  reader  some  idea  of  the 
vast  amount  of  crime  and  misery  resulting  from  our  hos 
tilities  with  Mexico ;  yet  those  hostilities  present  but  a 
faint  image  of  WAR.  All  the  American  troops  sent  into 
Mexico,  will  not  number  as  many  as  have  often  been  killed 
and  wounded  in  a  single  engagement.  Had  all  the  bat 
tles  of  the  late  war  occurred  at  the  same  time,  and  on  the 
same  field,  they  would  scarcely  have  equalled  a  skirmish 
between  the  outposts  of  two  European  armies.  The  total 
number  of  our  troops  officially  reported  to  have  been  killed 
in  battle,  is  less  than  two  thousand  !  If  we  would  know  the 
horrors  of  war,  not  as  waged  in  ancient  times,  when  whole 
nations  contended  in  arms,  with  heathen  barbarity,  but  as 
waged  within  our  own  recollection,  and  by  enlightened, 
civilized,  and  Christian  people,  let  us  contemplate  the  de 
tails  of  only  three  of  a  multitude  of  modern  battles.* 

JENA— engaged,  200,000  men  ;  killed  and  wounded,  84,000 
EYLAU        "        160,000  "  50,000 

BORODINO   "        265,000;  1,230  cannon  in  the  field, 

25,000  killed,  68,000  wounded— 93,000 

Napoleon  invaded  Russia  with  450,000  troops,  of  which 
number  about  400,000  are  supposed  to  have  perished, 
only  about  50,000  having  returned  to  their  native  land. 
We  shudder  to  reflect  on  the  awful  accumulated  misery 
and  crime  necessarily  resulting  from  such  vast  slaughter. 

*  See  Alison. 


322  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN     WAR. 

Let  it  be  also  recollected  that  the  horrors  of  the  battle 
field,  form  but  one  item,  and  that  comparatively  a  small 
one,  in  the  long  catalogue  of  woes,  inflicted  by  war  upon 
the  human  race.  The  limits  of  the  present  chapter  for 
bid  us  to  dwell  on  the  anguish  experienced  by  the  friends 
and  relatives  of  the  killed  and  wounded — on  the  vast 
amount  extorted  from  the  avails  of  labor  to  defray  the 
expense  of  war — on  the  ruin  and  desolation  which  mark 
the  track  of  hostile  armies,  and  the  depravation  of  morals 
engendered  by  the  license  and  temptations  connected  with 
the  military  profession.  Nor  have  we  space  to  exhibit 
the  innefficiency  and  uncertainty  of  war,  as  a  means  of 
defence  against  injury,  or  as  an  instrument  for  enforcing 
justice.  But  we  ask  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  a  topic 
seldom  investigated,  and  yet  possessing  momentous  inte 
rest — the  folly  and  the  cost  of  military  preparation. 

Of  all  the  false  and  hoary  maxims  by  which  mankind 
have  been  deluded,  perhaps  none  has  ever  exerted  such 
baneful  influence  on  human  happiness  as  that  scrap  of 
counterfeit  wisdom,  '•  Ix  PEACE,  PREPARE  FOR  WAR.'' 
The  proposed  object  of  the  counsel,  is  to  preserve  peace  by 
being  prepared  to  repel,  and  thereby  to  prevent  aggres 
sion.  The  reasoning  is  contradicted  by  the  testimony  of 
history  and  by  the  character  of  human  nature.  No  na 
tion  was  ever  better  prepared  for  war  than  France  under 
Napoleon,  and  no  nation  was  ever  more  fiercely  and  vio 
lently  attacked  ;  and  seldom  has  any  nation  been  more 
humbled,  compelled  not  only  to  receive  a  sovereign  from 
the  hands  of  her  enemies,  but  to  pay  the  expenses  of  a 
foreign  army  to  whose  custody  she  was  consigned.  Great 
military  strength  has  no  tendency  to  foster  pacific  dispo 
sitions  in  its  possessor.  While  the  character  of  man  re 
mains  unchanged,  his  cupidity,  oppression,  and  injustice 
will  ordinarily  be  proportioned  to  his  means  of  indiJging 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  323 

them.  Hence,  in  all  ages  those  nations  which  have  been 
the  best  prepared  for  war,  have  drank  most  deeply  of  its 
bloody  cup.  If  we  examine  the  history  of  Europe  from 
1700,  to  the  general  peace  in  1815,  we  shall  find  that 
during  the  115  years, 

Great  Britain  was  engaged  in  war       .         .  69  years. 

Russia, 68      " 

France,  ...  .  63      " 

Holland,    .  .  ...  43      " 

Portugal, 40      " 

Denmark, 28      " 

Pride,  arrogance,  and  the  lust  of  conquest,  are  the 
natural  and  bitter  fruits  of  military  preparation — fruits 
fatal  to  national  peace  and  happiness. 

Strange  as  may  seem  the  assertion,  it  is,  we  believe, 
nevertheless  true,  that  both  Europe  and  America  have 
expended  more  money  in  preparing  for  war,  than  in  actual 
hostilities. 

In  the  old  world,  every  important  city  was  anciently 
wralled  and  fortified,  and  even  in  our  own  days,  we 
have  seen  the  French  people  already  burthened  with 
debt,  lavishing  millions  in  erecting  a  wall  thirty  miles  in 
circumference  around  their  Capital.* 

When  we  examine  the  expenditures  made  in  time  of 
peace  for  military  preparation,  we  are  astounded  by  the 
stupendous  results,  and  can  scarcely  credit  the  testimony 
of  official  statements. 

*  This  work  of  prodigal  folly  has  been  falsely  ascribed  to  the 
late  King;  it  was  demanded  by  the  liberal  or  popular  party, 
under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  Thiers.  The  Republic,  instead  of 
lessening  the  burdens  of  the  people,  have  actually,  although  un- 
menaced  by  a  single  State  in  Europe,  increased  their  military 
preparations.  On  the  1st  December,  1848,  the  effective  force  of 
the  French  army  amounted  to  502,196  men,  and  100,432  horses ; 
and  to  this  was  added  a  large  navy,  with  between  twenty  and 
thirty  thousand  seamen. 


324  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

The  following  facts  are  gleaned  from  a  late  English 
statistical  work :  * 

For  the  six  years  ending  with  1886,  the  average 
expenditures  of  the  British  Government,  exclu 
sive  of  payments  for  interest  on  the  national 
debt,  was  £17,101,508 

Of  this  sum,  there  was  paid  on  an  average,  for  the 
army,  navy,  and  ordinance,!  ....  12,714,289 

Leaving  an  average  annual  amount  expenditure 
for  civil  purposes,  of  only 4,387,219 

It  thus  appears  that  the  annual  payments  for  military 
preparations  during  this  period,  were  no  less  than  seventy- 
four  per  cent,  of  the  current  expenses  of  the  Government, 
exclusive  of  £28,574,829,  the  yearly  interest  on  the  war 
debt ! ! 

The  Budget,  for  1848,  contained  the  following  esti 
mates,  viz : 

Army,         ....        £7,540,405 

Navy, 8,018,873 

Ordinance,          .        .         .  2,947,869 


Total,  .        .         .          £18,507,147 

One  would  have  thought  that  this  enormous  sum  was 
quite  enough  to  extort  from  the  people  of  England  in  a 
single  year  for  preparation  for  future  and  unseen  hostili 
ties.  But  no.  The  Duke  of  Wellington,  in  his  specula 
tions  on  steam  navigation,  suddenly  conceived  the  idea, 
that  a  French  army  might,  in  an  unexpected  moment,  be 
landed  upon  the  British  shores  from  a  fleet  of  steamboats. 
A  panic  seized  the  venerable  chief,  and  he  trembled  for 

*  Porter's  Progress  of  the  Nation,  Vol.  ii. 

f  The  average  for  these  six  years,  from  some  cause,  was  unusu 
ally  small  The  total  outlay  on  army,  navy,  and  ordinance, 
since  the  peace  of  1815,  to  the  year  ending  5th  Jamiary,  1848, 
is  £484,231,985,  being  an  annual  average  of  £15,444,749.  The 
actual  payments  for  military  preparation,  during  the  year  1847, 
amounted  to  £18,503,146  !  See  tract  published  by  the  "  Edin- 
burg  Financial  Reform  Association." 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  325 

the  permanency  of  the  Empire.  The  coasts  of  England 
ought  immediately  to  be  fortified,  and  a  large  home  army 
ought  to  be  forthwith  organized  and  maintained,  to  fight 
the  French  whenever  and  wherever  they  might  land  from 
their  steamers.  The  construction  of  the  forts  would  of 
course  furnish  fat  jobs  for  innumerable  contractors,  and  the 
home  army  would  supply  younger  sons  with  commissions, 
rank,  and  emolument.  No  wonder  that  multitudes  of 
patriotic  Englishmen  were  found  to  favor  the  insane  pro 
ject.  The  ministers,  it  is  believed,  were  deterred  from 
recommending  the  Duke's  plan  to  Parliament,  only  by  the 
sturdy  opposition  of  the  friends  of  peace. 

A  few  years  since,  it  was  computed  that  the  cost  of  the 
military  peace  establishments  of  the  following  Powers,  was 
in  the  ratio  named  to  the  whole  expenditure  -of  the  seve 
ral  Governments,  exclusive  of  payments  on  account  of 
debt,  viz. : 

Austria,  as  33  per  cent. 

France,  „  38  per  cent. 

Prussia,  ,,  44  per  cent. 

Great  Britain,  ,,  74  per  cent. 

We  are  fond  of  comparing  our  own  republican  frugality 
with  monarchical  prodigality.  National  vanity,  like 
charity,  covers  not  only  a  multitude  of  sins,  but  also  a 
multitude  of  follies.  The  average  expenditure  of  the 
Federal  Government,  for  the  six  years,  ending  with  1840, 
exclusive  of  payments  on  account  of  debt,  was  $26,474,892. 
During  the  same  years,  the  average  payments  for 
military  and  naval  purposes,  were  $21,328,903.  Being 
EIGHTY  PER  CENT,  of  the  whole  amount !  A  greater 
ratio  than  is  expended  by  any  monarchy  in  Europe,  in 
preparing  for  war.* 

*  It  is  true,  that  during  a  portion  of  these  six  years,  we  were 
fighting  a  few  Seininole  Indians  in  Florida.  If,  then,  we  take  the 
six  years,  ending  with  1836,  a  time  of  profound  peace,  the  ratio 


326  REVIEW    Of     THi:    MEXICAN    WAR. 

It  is  with  difficulty  we  can  give  our  assent  to  the  accu 
racy  of  such  amazing  disclosures  ;  and  yet  our  scepticism 
will  vanish  when  we  consider  that  fortifications,  barracks, 
store-houses,  arms,  ammunition,  and  ships  of  war  are  all 
mostly  constructed  in  time  of  peace.  But  this  is  not  all. 
Men  are  also  to  be  trained  and  instructed  in  the  art  of 
human  slaughter,  and  kept  ready  to  put  in  practice  at  a 
moment's  warning,  the  lessons  they  have  received. 

In  1828,  a  time  of  general  peace,  the  standing  armies 
of  Europe  were  estimated  at  2,265,500  men.*  If  to  the 
pay  of  these  men,  we  add  the  cost  of  their  food,  clothes, 
lodging,  and  of  the  arms,  ammunition,  barracks,  &c.,  with 
which  they  were  furnished,  and  the  value  of  their  labor 
which  is  lost  to  the  community,  we  shall  not  exaggerate 
their  expense  to  the  State  when  we  estimate  it  at  8500  a 
man,  making  the  sum  total  of  $1,132,750,000,  an  amount 
the  mind  cannot  realize.  But  before  we  give  vent  to  our 
indignation  against  Kings  and  Emperors  for  thus  squan 
dering  the  earnings  of  their  subjects,  let  us  once  more 
look  at  home.  Our  young  Republic,  from  the  moment  of 
her  birth,  has  scarcely  had  a  hostile  neighbor.  For  about 
two  years,  Canada  on  the  north,  and  for  the  same  time, 
Mexico  on  the  south,  have  been  in  a  belligerent  position 
towards  us.  Bounded  for  the  most  part  by  the  ocean, 
and  by  interminable  forests,  we  have  had  little  to  fear 
from  invasion  ;  and  never,  except  in  the  war  of  1812, 
has  a  hostile  foot,  other  than  that  of  a  savage,  pressed 
our  soil.  Yet  with  all  our  professions  of  economy,  we 
have  pursued  the  system  of  military  preparation,  after  a 
royal  fashion.  Since  the  commencement  of  the  Federal 
Government  to  the  beginning  of  1848,  independent  of 

is  seventy-seven  per  cent.,  still  greater  than  that  of  Great  Britain. 
See  American  Almanac  for  1845,  page  143. 

*  Balance  Politique  du  Globe,  by  M.  Adrien  Ballri. 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  327 

the  prodigious  cost  of  arming  and  training  the  militia, 
.there  have  been  paid  from  the  national  treasury — 

For  the  Army  and  Fortifications,      -         -        $366,713,209 
For  the  Navy,  and  its  operations,     -         -  209,994,428 


$576,707,637 

Here  we  have  half  a  billion  of  dollars  taken  from  the 
people,  with  their  own  consent,  for  the  purpose  of  being 
ready  for  war !  To  this  immense  sum  may  be  added 
$61,169,834,  expended  in  military  pensions. 

Were  the  money  lavished  in  military  preparation 
annihilated,  all  the  mines  in  the  world  could  not  sup 
ply  the  requisite  treasure.  It  is  not  annihilated,  but 
it  is  wasted — that  is,  it  is  given  for  what  yields  no  return 
of  comfort  and  happiness  to  the  nation  at  large.  Let  us 
suppose  that  the  two  millions  of  soldiers  maintained  in 
Europe,  in  1828,  had  been  employed  at  ordinary  wages 
in  building  pyramids.  Surely,  none  would  deny  that 
the  money  expended  in  raising  structures  so  utterly 
worthless,  was  profligately  wasted  ;  and  none  will  question 
that  the  people  would  have  had  good  cause  to  rise  in  re 
bellion  against  rulers  who  robbed  them  of  the  fruits  of 
their  labor,  for  purposes  so  vain  and  ridiculous.  Yet  the 
treasures  lavished  on  such  piles,  would  have  been  far 
less  in  amount,  and  expended  in  a  manner  far  less  in 
jurious  to  the  public  morals  and  happiness,  than  the 
money  squandered  on  the  armies. 

M.  Bouvet,  in  a  recent  speech  in  the  French  Assembly, 
remarking  on  the  appropriation  of  583  millions  for  the 
army  and  navy,  about  one-third  of  the  whole  estimate, 
well  observed  :  "I  cannot  convey  to  you  my  sense  of  the 
irrational  distribution  of  our  resources,  when  I  observe 
how  comparatively  unimportant  we  deem  the  elements  of 
intelligence  and  public  prosperity  which  is  indicated  by 


328  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

our  budgets  of  instruction,  commerce,  and  agriculture, 
amounting  altogether  to  hardly  thirty-six  millions  !  What 
should  you  think  of  the  father  of  a  family,  who  possessing 
an  income  of  15,000  francs,  should  expend  5,000  in  arms 
and  horses,  while  he  only  appropriated  360  francs  to  the 
instruction  of  his  children  and  the  improvement  of  his 
estate  ?  War,  founded  on  force  and  restraint,  is  contrary 
to  liberty.  War,  enabling  the  strong  to  triumph  over  the 
weak,  is  contrary  to  equality.  War,  shattering  the  law  of 
love,  which  unites  individuals  and  communities,  is  con 
trary  to  fraternity.  Thus  the  Republic,  to  be  consistent 
with  its  own  constitution,  ought  henceforth  to  endeavor  to 
suppress  the  military  system,  and  to  substitute  for  it  an 
international  jurisdiction.  Such  an  object  is  so  honest,  so 
generous,  so  important  to  the  public  welfare,  that  France 
need  not  blush  to  make  it  the  principal  aim  of  its  political 
existence." 

The  desire  expressed  by  M.  Bouvet,  that  international 
jurisdiction  may  be  substituted  for  the  military  system, 
will  find  a  cordial  response  in  the  breast  of  every  true 
patriot,  of  every  faithful  disciple  of  the  PRINCE  OF  PEACE. 
But  what  would  be  a  practicable  and  safe  and  proper  inter 
national  jurisdiction  ?  A  "  congress  of  nations,"  con 
sisting  of  deputies  from  various  States,  and  forming  a 
court  for  the  settlement  of  controversies  arising  between 
their  several  governments,  has  been  proposed.  However 
excellent  such  a  tribunal  may  be  in  theory,  and  however 
useful  it  may  hereafter  be  in  practice,  it  cannot  be  dis 
guised,  that  formidable  difficulties  oppose  its  speedy 
organization.  Pacific  sentiments  must  extensively  prevail, 
before  governments  will  be  disposed  to  enter  into  such  an 
arrangement ;  and  the  erection  of  such  a  tribunal  must 
necessarily  be  preceded  by  tedious  negotiations  respect- 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  329 

ing  the  relative  representation  in  the  Congress,  and  the 
powers  with  which  ii  should  be  entrusted.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  military  system  would  be  continued,  and  its 
very  continuance  would  render  more  difficult  and  distant 
the  establishment  of  the  Congress. 

Happily  there  is  a  mode  of  "  international  jurisdiction," 
more  simple,  speedy,  and  practicable,  and  of  which  any 
two  nations  may  at  any  time  avail  themselves,  without 
waiting  for  the  co-operation  of  others.  This  mode  is 
faintly  shadowed  forth  in  our  late  treaty  with  Mexico,  but 
in  terms — 

"  Which  keep  the  word  of  promise  to  the  ear, 
And  break  it  to  the  hope." 

The  21st  Article  is  as  follows  :  "  If  unhappily  any  dis 
agreement  should  hereafter  arise  between  the  Govern 
ments  of  the  two  Republics,  whether  with  respect  to  the 
interpretation  of  any  stipulation  in  this  treaty,  or  with 
respect  to  any  other  particular  concerning  the  political  or 
commercial  relations  of  the  two  nations,  the  said  Govern 
ments,  in  the  name  of  those  nations,  do  promise  to  each 
other,  that  they  will  endeavor  in  the  most  sincere  and 
earnest  manner,  to  settle  the  differences  so  arising,  and  to 
preserve  the  state  of  peace  and  friendship,  in  which  the 
two  countries  are  now  placing  themselves,  using  for  this 
end  mutual  representations  and  pacific  negotiations ;  and 
if  by  these  means  they  should  not  be  enabled  to  come  to 
an  agreement,  a  resort  shall  not  on  this  account  be  had  to 
reprisals,  aggressions,  or  hostilities  of  any  kind,  by  the 
one  Republic  a<^iinst  the  other,  until  the  Government  of 
that  which  deems  itself  aggrieved,  shall  have  maturely 
considered,  in  the  spirit  of  peace  and  good  neighborship, 
whether  it  would  not  be  better  that  such  difference  should 
be  settled  by  the  arbitration  of  commissioners  appointed 
on  each  side,  or  by  that  of  a  friendly  nation  ;  and  should 
28* 


330  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

such  course  be  proposed  by  either  party,  it  shall  be 
acceded  to  by  the  other,  unless  deemed  by  it  altogether 
incompatible  with  the  nature  of  the  difference,  or  the  cir 
cumstances  of  the  case." 

This  stipulation,  it  is  obvious,  amounts  to  nothing  more 
than  an  acknowledgment  that  there  is  an  equitable  mode 
of  preventing  future  hostilities,  and  a  promise  to  adopt  it, 
unless  either  party  shall  think  it  more  advantageous  to 
trust  to  the  arbitrament  of  the  sword. 

Had  the  reference  to  arbitration  been  made  imperative 
instead  of  discretionary,  the  treaty  of  peace  would  have 
done  much  to  atone  for  the  iniquity  of  the  war.  It  would 
have  secured  Mexico  from  future  spoliation,  and  by  guar 
anteeing  our  own  rights,  would  have  removed  all  pretext, 
for  military  preparation  on  our  Mexican  frontier ;  and  it 
would,  moreover,  have  set  a  glorious  example  of  a  victori 
ous  people  debarring  themselves  from  future  conquests, 
and  have  taught  the  world  how  its  swords  might  bo 
beaten  into  ploughshares,  and  its  spears  into  pruning- 
hooks. 

Let  us  suppose  that  instead  of  this  quibbling,  shuffling, 
non-committal  Article,  the  following  had  been  substituted 
for  it. 

"  It  is  agreed  between  the  contracting  parties,  that,  if 
unhappily  any  controversy  shall  arise  between  them,  in 
respect  to  the  true  intent  of  any  stipulation  in  this  treaty, 
or  in  respect  to  any  other  matter,  which  controversy  can 
not  be  satisfactorily  adjusted  by  negotiation,  neither  partv 
shall  resort  to  hostilities  against  the  other*but  the  matter 
in  dispute  shall,  by  a  special  convention,  be  submitted  to 
the  arbitrament  of  some  friendly  power  ;  and  the  parties 
do  hereby  agree  to  abide  by  the  award  which  may  be 
given  in  pursuance  of  such  submission." 

To  such  an  Article,  what  valid  objection  can  be  offered  ? 


REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  331 

The  reference  would  be  made  only  after  negotiation  had 
failed,  of  course  it  would  be  the  alternative  of  WAR. 
Now  whatever  might  be  the  award,  each  party  would  be 
the  gainer,  for  each  would  be  saved  the  expenditure  of 
blood  and  treasure.  The  successful  party  would  establish 
his  claims  without  cost ;  and  to  the  losing  party,  the 
remark  of  Franklin  would  be  strictly  applicable  :  "  What 
ever  advantage  one  nation  would  obtain  of  another,  it 
would  be  cheaper  to  purchase  such  advantage  with  ready 
money,  than  to  pay  the  expense  of  acquiring  it  by  war." 

But  it  may  be  doubted  by  some,  whether  the  award 
would  be  in  accordance  with  justice.  Why  such  a  doubt  ? 
Would  an  impartial  disinterested  umpire,  selected  or  agreed 
to  by  ourselves,  and  with  the  gaze  of  the  world  fixed  upon 
him,  be  less  able,  or  less  inclined,  to  understand  and  deter 
mine  the  merits  of  the  question  submitted  to  him,  than 
the  Government  of  Mexico,  or  of  our  own  country  smarting 
under  the  irritation  of  real  or  imaginary  wrong,  seeking 
popularity  by  a  show  of  patriotism  and  sensibility  to 
national  honor,  and  goaded  on  by  politicians  seeking  for 
office,  and  by  needy  adventurers  eager  for  the  commis 
sions,  contracts,  and  spoils  of  war  ?  The  people  at  largo 
have  no  interest  in  war  ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  upon  them 
its  burdens  press  and  its  calamities  fall. 

We  have  seen  how  crushing  is  the  weight  of  war-taxes 
upon  the  multitude  ;  and  yet  they  seem,  for  the  most  part, 
utterly  ignorant  of  the  true  cause  of  their  poverty  and 
wretchedness.  Deluded  by  demagogues,  they  ascribe 
their  sufferings  to  kings,  and  nobles,  and  priests,  but 
render  a  willing  homage  to  SOLDIERS,  who  are  in  fact 
their  real  oppressors.  The  French  people  restless  under 
the  burthen  of  taxation,  drove  their  monarch  into  exile, 
and  seizing  in  their  own  hands  the  reins  of  Government, 
immediately  enlarged  their  army,  and  have  thus  swelled 


332  REVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

their  taxes  beyond  what  they  were  under  the  monarchy. 
The  suffering  masses  of  England  cry  aloud  against  the 
political  institutions  of  their  country,  and  seek  relief  in 
annual  parliaments,  vote  by  ballot,  &c.,  apparently  uncon 
scious  that  they  are  pressed  to  the  earth  by  war  and  mili 
tary  preparation.  Let  them  rid  themselves  of  these 
plagues,  and  their  taxes  for  the  support  of  the  Govern 
ment,  including  all  the  appropriations  for  the  maintenance 
of  royalty  in  all  its  splendor,  would  be  so  trivial  as  to  be 
scarcely  perceptible.  Does  this  statement  excite  the  smile 
of  incredulity  ?  We  appeal  to  facts. 

The  average  expenditure  of  the  British  Govern 
ment  for  the  six  years  ending  with  1886,  in 
cluding  interest  on  the  National-Debt,  was  £45,676,357 

Now  of  this  immense  sum,  there  was  paid  for 

the  civil  expenses  of  the  Government,  only  4,387,214 


Leaving,  for  military  preparation  and  interest 

on  the  war-debt        -  £41,289,143 

Here  we  have  disclosed  the  secret  agent  of  those 
mighty  upheavings  which  are  causing  the  political  world 
to  reel  to  and  fro  like  a  drunken  man.  Men  are  wasting 
their  lives  and  energies  in  toil,  yet  eat  not  the  fruit  of 
their  labor,  for  it  is  wrested  from  them  and  offered  on  the 
altar  of  Moloch.  Yet  they  perceive  not  the  hand  that 
robs  them  ;  and  vainly  attribute  their  poverty  to  defective 
political  institutions.  Hence,  revolution  follows  revolution 
in  rapid  succession,  like  the  waves  of  a  troubled  sea,  but 
no  relief  is  found.  Agriculture  is  interrupted,  commerce 
droops,  industry  is  paralyzed,  and  soldiers  and  taxes  are 
multiplied.  Mexico,  our  own  country,  and  France,  bear 
witness  that  monarchs  and  nobles  are  not  the  exclusive 
devotees  of  war.  Under  all  forms  of  Government  have 
the  wealth,  the  morals  and  the  happiness  of  the  people 
been  sacrificed  with  their  own  consent,  to  their  own  insan-0 


UEVIEW    OF    THE    MEXICAN    WAR.  333 

admiration  of  glory,  and  their  own  foolish  idea  of  the 
necessity  of  military  preparation. 

Let,  then,  the  friends  of  human  progress  and  of  public 
peace,  of  happiness,  and  virtue,  the  patriot  and  the  Christ 
ian,  all  unite  in  one  loud  and  unceasing  demand,  for  trea 
ties  of  arbitration.  In  this  blessed  reform  any  nation  may 
take  the  lead  ;  would  that  our  own  had  seized  the  oppor 
tunity  offered  by  the  recent  negotiation  !  Let  Congress 
by  a  joint  resolution,  express  its  desire  that  an  arbitration 
clause  shall  be  inserted  in  all  our  future  treaties,  and  the 
grtat  work  will  be  commenced.  Such  a  resolution,  would 
be  iike  the  first  beams  of  light  breaking  upon  the  darkness 
of  night,  and  shining  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect 
day,  gradually  dispelling  the  baneful  mists  of  military 
glory  and  ambition,  and  diffusing  life,  and  joy,  and  abun 
dance,  among  the  suffering  millions  of  our  distracted 
world. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

0*w  OEPT. 

SONIY_TEI.  NO. 


1 


ED 


,  , 

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.General  Library 

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